Technology

White House offers guidelines for artificial intelligence regulations

The White House on Tuesday proposed 10 principles for federal agencies to consider when developing laws and regulations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a variety of fields.

Regulations created by agencies should encourage “fairness, non-discrimination, openness, transparency, safety, and security,” the memo distributed by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recommended.

The advisory agency stressed that new rules should be preceded by “risk assessment and cost-benefit analyses,” and must incorporate “scientific evidence and feedback from the American public.”

“The U.S. AI regulatory principles set the Nation on a path of continued AI innovation and discovery,” White House chief technology officer Michael Kratsios said in a statement.

“By reducing regulatory uncertainty for America’s innovators, increasing public input on regulatory decisions, and promoting trustworthy AI development, the principles offer the American approach to address the challenging technical and ethical issues that arise with AI technologies.”

The memo also urged other nations and supranational bodies to follow the U.S.’s lead on backing off from strict regulations on AI.

“Europe and our allies should avoid heavy handed innovation-killing models, and instead consider a similar regulatory approach,” the OSTP said.

“The best way to counter authoritarian uses of AI is to make sure America and our international partners remain the global hubs of innovation, shaping the evolution of technology in a manner consistent with our common values.”

That recommendation goes against much of the prevailing sentiment from bodies like the European Union that are actively considering increasing regulation of AI.

The principles released Tuesday follow the White House’s American AI Initiative from February of last year.