President Joe Biden's administration today released a sweeping executive order focused on crafting standards for AI systems development, which could underpin future legislation in Congress or states across the U.S.
The EO firstly requires developers of AI systems to share safety test results with the U.S. government, building off commitments the Biden administration secured earlier this year from AI companies to build safe and trustworthy systems. The EO also directs federal agencies to begin developing AI safety standards, including a request for guidance from the Department of Commerce on watermarking methods to label AI-generated content.
While the EO doesn't issue mandates around the use of AI, it does address the growing need for AI standards that's commonly pointed out in congressional proposals for AI legislation, said Anna Lenhart, a policy fellow at the George Washington University Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics.
"You can't say, 'Hey, company, you have to watermark,' if there's no watermark standard," she said.
Through the EO, Lenhart said, the White House is using its authority to set AI best practices and standards so that when AI legislation does pass, the standards are ready and "we're not spending two years writing the standards before we can enforce the laws."