The Biden administration unveiled a set of far-reaching goals Tuesday to align artificial intelligence-powered tools with what it called the values of Democracy and equity, including guidelines for how to protect people’s personal data and limit surveillance.
The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights notably does not set out specific enforcement actions, but instead is intended as a White House call to action for the U.S. government to safeguard digital and civil rights in an AI-fueled world, officials said.
The US Chamber of Commerce warned that the blueprint “could handcuff America’s ability to compete on the global stage.”
“Although a truly national privacy law is necessary, AI should be guided by voluntary, risk-based frameworks like those currently being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology,” it said in a statement.
However, tech-focused publication WIRED reported in its view that “Biden’s AI Bill of Rights Is Toothless Against Big Tech.”
“The White House’s blueprint for AI rights is primarily aimed at the federal government,” WIRED reported. “It will change how algorithms are used only if it steers how government agencies acquire and deploy AI technology, or helps parents, workers, policymakers, or designers ask tough questions about AI systems. It has no power over the large tech companies that arguably have the most power in shaping the deployment of machine learning and AI technology.”
“Five common sense protections” in blueprint:
- Safe and Effective Systems: You should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems.
- Algorithmic Discrimination Protections: You should not face discrimination by algorithms and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way.
- Data Privacy: You should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and you should have agency over how data about you is used.
- Notice and Explanation: You should know when an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you.
- Human Alternatives, Consideration, and Fallback: You should be able to opt out, where appropriate, and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems you encounter.
Source: White House
The Washington Post, meanwhile, noted: “The document offers a set of voluntary guidelines that the administration says companies developing or deploying AI can follow to better protect users. But it stops short of setting any new restrictions or protections around use of the technology.”
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said the white paper represents a major advance in the administration’s agenda to hold technology companies accountable, and highlighted various federal agencies’ commitments to weighing new rules and studying the specific impacts of AI technologies. The document emerged after a year-long consultation with more than two dozen different departments, and also incorporates feedback from technologists, civil society groups, businesses and industry researchers.
“This is the Biden-Harris administration really saying that we need to work together, not only just across government, but across all sectors, to really put equity at the center and civil rights at the center of the ways that we make and use and govern technologies,” said Alondra Nelson, deputy director for science and society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “We can and should expect better and demand better from our technologies.”
US Chamber: AI Blueprint Could Handcuff America’s Ability to Compete on the Global Stage
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jordan Crenshaw, Vice President of the U.S. Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center, issued the following statement today in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Blueprint on Artificial Intelligence.
“We must protect the civil rights of Americans in a way that still enables America to compete in the global race to develop and deploy trustworthy AI. America cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and let those that do not share our democratic values lead the way. Getting the right frameworks in place are critical to boosting America’s competitive edge, which can only be achieved through a comprehensive approach.
“There are some recommendations in the AI Blueprint that, if enacted into rules by policymakers, could handcuff America’s ability to compete on the global stage. For starters, the Blueprint’s definition of ‘automated systems’ is so broad that basic computing and technology could be subject to the same oversight or regulations as highly complex decision systems. Although a truly national privacy law is necessary, AI should be guided by voluntary, risk-based frameworks like those currently being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“The Chamber’s bi-partisan AI Commission will release concrete policy recommendations early next year, and we look forward to working with the administration and Congress to ensure the United States leads in the development of trustworthy AI.”
Source: U.S. Chamber
The resulting non-binding principles cite academic research, agency studies and news reports that have documented real-world harms from AI-powered tools, including facial recognition tools that contributed to wrongful arrests and an automated system that discriminated against loan seekers who attended a Historically Black College or University.
The white paper also said parents and social workers alike could benefit from knowing if child welfare agencies were using algorithms to help decide when families should be investigated for maltreatment.
WIRED, however, pointed out that the European Union is being much more aggressive on AI issues.
“The limited bite of the White House’s AI Bill of Rights stands in contrast to more toothy AI regulation currently under development in the European Union,” the magazine said.
Earlier this year after the publication of an AP review of an algorithmic tool used in a Pennsylvania child welfare system, OSTP staffers reached out to sources quoted in the article to learn more, according to multiple people who participated in the call. AP’s investigation found that the Allegheny County tool in its first years of operation showed a pattern of flagging a disproportionate number of Black children for a “mandatory” neglect investigation, when compared with white children.
In May, sources said Carnegie Mellon University researchers and staffers from the American Civil Liberties Union spoke with OSTP officials about child welfare agencies’ use of algorithms. Nelson said protecting children from technology harms remains an area of concern.
“If a tool or an automated system is disproportionately harming a vulnerable community, there should be, one would hope, that there would be levers and opportunities to address that through some of the specific applications and prescriptive suggestions,” said Nelson, who also serves as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden.
OSTP did not provide additional comment about the May meeting.
Still, because many AI-powered tools are developed, adopted or funded at the state and local level, the federal government has limited oversight regarding their use. The white paper makes no specific mention of how the Biden administration could influence specific policies at state or local levels, but a senior administration official said the administration was exploring how to align federal grants with AI guidance.
The white paper also did not specifically address AI-powered technologies funded through the Department of Justice, whose civil rights division separately has been examining algorithmic harms, bias and discrimination, Nelson said.
Tucked between the calls for greater oversight, the white paper also said when appropriately implemented, AI systems have the power to bring about lasting benefits to society, such as helping farmers grow food more efficiently or identifying diseases.
“Fueled by the power of American innovation, these tools hold the potential to redefine every part of our society and make life better for everyone. This important progress must not come at the price of civil rights or democratic values,” the document said.
