November 3, 2024
The Pentagon, our intelligence agencies and all of the US government have been ordered to increase their use of AI (artificial intelligence). And that’s because President Biden ordered them to it.
You probably missed that nugget of news because of all the election coverage recently but my subscribers really wanted me to report on this story and they voted for it – so let’s talk about it.
Ok – so here’s what’s going on. First – this is what the president signed. It’s the first ever national security memorandum on artificial intelligence. If you’ve been paying attention to my page for the last year or so, you’d know I’ve been covering the Biden administration’s efforts to understand, bring in a-i industry leaders and fully harness the benefits of AI while identifying the dangers of it too – especially when it comes to AI replacing the jobs of human beings.
So this new AI memo the president signed last week does three things – one — ensure the US leads the world in developing a safe, secure and trustworthy AI. Two – harnesses cutting edge AI tech to advance the US government’s national security mission. And three build consensus about governing AI around the world.
Ok – so how will the Pentagon and in intelligence agencies play into this? Well – this order from the president basically says – spy. Well not specifically that word – but it says our global competitors are on a mission to steal our AI tech and advancements so this order says our intelligence agencies need to make “collection on our competitors’ operations against our ai sector a top-tier intelligence priority.” Basically, spy to see what they’re looking to steal from us – and cut them off at the pass by warning AI developers in the United States when and how our global competitors are trying to hack into their systems.
But this order isn’t just about this “top tier intelligence” priority is also about experimenting and deploying AI the federal government. This presidential memo says the United States must lead the world’s development of safe, secure and trustworthy AI. It says if the US government does not act with “responsible speed” in partnering with US tech industries, civil society and academia– the United States will lose its technological edge in the AI field to our adversaries which would “greatly harm” American national security.
But this memo is also very clear about what the government cannot do with AI. Government agencies are banned from using AI technology in ways that “do not alight with democratic values.” This memo orders the creation of a framework that allows the US government to “fully harness” the power of AI but also requires the government to make sure that the American people are protected from any type of AI invasion of privacy, ai bias or discrimination, safety of individuals and groups from AI and other human rights abuses.
Read the AI memo from President Biden here.
