U.S. Government Is Seeking Public’s Input On How To Regulate Artificial Intelligence

Topline

The U.S. government is ramping up efforts to regulate artificial intelligence tools as it launched a public consultation on the technology Tuesday, while China released its own set of detailed measures to keep AI in check amid the popularization of chatbots and a complex race to safely develop the industry.

Chinese tech giant Alibaba unveiled its own large language model the same day the government … [+] launched AI regulations.

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Key Facts

China’s internet regulator published a 20-point draft of measures Tuesday to manage generative AI services, including mandates to ensure accuracy and privacy, prevent discrimination and guarantee protection of intellectual property rights.

The draft, which is published for public feedback and set to go into effect this year, also requires AI providers to clearly label AI-generated content, establish a mechanism for handling user complaints and undergo a security assessment before becoming publicly available.

Content generated by AI must also “reflect the core values of socialism” and not contain any subversion of state power that could lead to an overthrow of the socialist system in China, according to the draft.

China’s regulations were published the same morning that the U.S. Commerce Department launched a formal public request for comment on AI accountability measures, a first step for the Biden administration toward potential regulation.

Public comments will be accepted over the next 60 days and used to help formulate advice for policymakers about how to approach AI development, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Key Background

The Commerce Department released a report last month outlining recommendations for how AI oversight could work, highlighting workforce preparation, global competitiveness and national security as top priorities for policymakers to establish a regulatory framework. The report notes that “America’s competitors, such as China, realize the importance of establishing dominance” in the industry. As historical technology and business competitors, the U.S. and China are looking at increased AI oversight amid a boom of highly popular generative apps that governments have struggled to keep up with. ChatGPT, the chatbot from San Francisco-based OpenAI, is estimated to have reached 100 million users, while Chinese companies have followed behind, with Baidu’s Ernie Bot unveiled last month and Alibaba releasing a bot Tuesday to be used internally.

News Peg

While generative AI has boomed this year at an almost immeasurable pace, a chorus of government and business voices has critiqued the potential dangers stemming from its quick and, until now, largely unregulated growth. Tech leaders including Elon Musk most recently called for a six-month pause in AI development, saying labs are in an “out-of-control race” to develop systems that no one—not even their creators—can fully predict and control. They also said labs and independent experts should work together to implement a set of shared safety protocols.

Contra

Alibaba gave up most of its initial gains following its AI launch Tuesday morning after the CAC released the draft measures, while Baidu’s stock slid 7%. Smaller AI-linked Chinese stocks such as 360 Security Technology and Cambricon Technologies Corp. were also down sharply Tuesday morning. Major AI investors like Bill Gates, whose Microsoft is the primary backer of OpenAI, have critiqued calls for increased accountability measures, saying they are impractical and could slow innovation.

Big Number

$13 trillion. That’s how much AI is projected to increase global economic growth by the end of this decade, according to the Commerce Department’s report from last month.