US Vice President Kamala Harris announces AI Safety Institute – Times of India

The US Vice President Kamala Harris announced at the UK AI Safety Summit on Tuesday that the Biden administration is undertaking six new AI, just days after President Joe Biden unveiled an executive order tasking federal agencies on responsible AI development. The initiatives include creating the United States AI Safety Institute, the first draft policy guidance on the federal government’s use of AI, and a declaration on the responsible military applications of the emerging technology.
Harris announced that the White House would work with the Department of Commerce to set up the United States AI Safety Institute (US AISI) within NIST. The institute will be responsible for creating and publishing guidelines, benchmark tests, best practices, and other materials for testing and evaluating potentially dangerous AI systems.
The AISI will provide technical guidance to lawmakers and law enforcement officials on various AI-related topics, including identifying generated content, authenticating live-recorded content, mitigating AI-driven discrimination, and ensuring transparency in AI use.
During her remarks, US Vice President Kamala Harris emphasised that President Biden believes that all leaders across the government, civil society, and the private sector have a moral, ethical, and societal obligation to ensure that AI is adopted and advanced in a way that safeguards the public against potential harm and guarantees that everyone can benefit from its advantages.
She also highlighted that, although AI has the potential to create significant benefits, it can also cause severe harm, from AI-assisted cyber attacks on an unprecedented level to AI-created bioweapons that could jeopardise the lives of millions. The summit focused on the existential threats that generative AI systems pose.
Harris further announced a Political Declaration on the Responsible Use of AI and Autonomy, signed by 30 nations. A virtual hackathon will help build AI models to counter phone and internet scams targeting the elderly.
She argued that to define AI safety, we must consider and address the entire spectrum of AI risks, including threats to humanity as a whole, threats to individuals, communities, and institutions, and threats to the most vulnerable populations. “Therefore, it is imperative that we manage all these dangers to ensure that AI is safe.”
“One important way to address these challenges — in addition to the work we have already done — is through legislation — legislation that strengthens AI safety without stifling innovation,” Harris said.