Biden to discuss risks of AI in Tuesday meeting with science advisers (updated)

Guardforce AI

04/04/2023 18:29

(Adds stock market reaction)
    By Jeff Mason
       WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden
will discuss the "risks and opportunities" artificial
intelligence poses for people, society and national security
during a meeting with science and technology advisers at the
White House on Tuesday, an official said.
    Biden, a Democrat, is scheduled to meet with the President's
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on the
same day his predecessor, former President Donald Trump,
surrenders in New York over charges stemming from a probe into
hush money paid to a porn star.
    Biden has declined to comment on Trump's legal woes, and
Democratic strategists say his focus on governing will create a
politically advantageous split screen of sorts as his former
rival, a Republican, deals with his legal challenges.
    "The president will discuss the importance of protecting
rights and safety to ensure responsible innovation and
appropriate safeguards," a White House official said in a
statement ahead of Biden's meeting.
    "He will call on Congress to pass bipartisan privacy
legislation to protect kids and limit personal data tech
companies collect on all of us," the official said.
    Companies that employ artificial intelligence or AI saw
their share prices drop hard before Biden's meeting, although
the broader market was also selling off on Tuesday. 
        AI software company C3.ai Inc  AI.N  was down 24%, more
than halving a nearly 40% four-session winning streak through
Monday. Thailand security firm Guardforce AI  GFAI.O  fell 29%,
data analytics firm BigBear.ai  BBAI.N  was down 16% and
conversation intelligence company SoundHound AI  SOUN.O  shed
11.8% on the session. 
  
    AI is becoming a hot topic for policy makers.
    The tech ethics group Center for Artificial Intelligence and
Digital Policy has asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to
stop OpenAI from issuing new commercial releases of GPT-4, which
has wowed and appalled users with its human-like abilities to
generate written responses to requests.
    Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy has urged society to
pause as it considers the ramifications of AI.
    Last year the Biden administration released a blueprint
"Bill of Rights" to help ensure users' rights are protected as
technology companies design and develop AI systems. 

 (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Stephen Coates and Mark
Porter)
 ((jeff.mason@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8300; On Twitter:
@jeffmason1; Reuters Messaging:
jeff.mason.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))