White House introduces guidelines for government use of AI to reduce risks

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday, March 28, 2024, that the White House will be establishing guidelines for the use of AI in government agencies. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

March 29 (UPI) — The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a series of guidelines to reduce risks associated with government use of AI.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced the guidelines Thursday, which the White House said were “delivering on a core component” of President Joe Biden‘s October executive order on AI.

“The guidance places people and communities at the center of the government’s innovation goals. Federal agencies have a distinct responsibility to identify and manage AI risks because of the role they play in our society,” the White House said.

The White House says federal agencies will have until Dec. 1 to put safeguards in place.

Under the guidelines, travelers will be allowed to opt out of Transportation Security Administration facial recognition without being delayed, and a human will be required to supervise AI-powered diagnostic tools that are used in the federal healthcare system.

Additionally, the guidelines require human supervision of AI-powered systems used to detect fraud in government services and a means for people to seek remedies for AI harm.

The guidelines also require federal agencies to release annual inventories about their use of AI, provide metrics on sensitive non-public AI use cases, inform the public of exceptions to restrictions imposed by the OMB and to release information on AI models, including code and data.

Additionally, federal agencies will be required to designate chief AI officers and establish AI governance boards to govern AI use.

Biden directed several federal agencies to develop guidelines on AI in the sweeping executive order in October, which also established the AI Safety and Security Board under the Department of Homeland Security, which will apply the standards to critical U.S. infrastructure.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here