White House Orders Federal Agencies to Appoint Chief AI Officers

Facts

• US Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has ordered all federal agencies to appoint chief artificial intelligence (AI) officers.¹
• In a statement, the OMB noted the 'risks' as well as 'tremendous opportunities' of AI, including for 'public services,' 'addressing climate change,' 'improving public health,' and 'advancing equitable economic opportunity.'²
• Agencies will also have until December to implement measures to monitor their respective use of AI for impacts on the public, reduce algorithmic discrimination, and boost transparency.³
• As part of its AI agenda, the White House wants each agency to establish AI governance boards to coordinate their use of technologies. These have already been set up at the Departments of State, Defense, Housing, Veterans Affairs and Housing.¹
• The use of AI by the federal government is already underway, including for weather analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and to judge patent applications at the Patent and Trademark Office.³

Sources: ¹CBS, ²Semafor and ³Quartz.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Brookings. In his attempt to keep up with more ambitious regulatory goals in Europe, Pres. Biden has set the stage for the government to codify concrete laws. While the president's AI Bill of Rights and subsequent memos regarding transparency, safety, privacy, and human rights are a good start, Congress is the body that must pass legislation.
• Republican narrative, as provided by The Post Millennial. Biden's AI agenda is likely being stalled because, per usual, it's chock-full of woke diversity and equity language. The White House doesn't care about protecting Americans from AI but rather uses AI to 'correct' so-called historical wrongs and make sure conservative ideas are suppressed.

Predictions