The US Government And OpenAI Are Making Moves To Enhance AI Safety!

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to bloom, it’s becoming more and more important to ensure its safety, right?

As a result, companies and governments are taking stringent measures to ensure users are safeguarded from misinformation, hallucinations from such applications and other issues related to problematic outputs from AI technologies.

As such, the US government is making moves to push the safety of AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, while OpenAI itself is moving in a similar direction.

So, what is the US government and OpenAI doing? Let’s explore!
 

What Is The US Government’s Plan?

 

• The US government is implementing new regulations for developers of AI systems to disclose the methods used and results of their safety tests.

• Three months ago, President Joe Biden signed an executive order looking to safeguard from AI concerns, which was scheduled to be implemented and fulfilled between 90 days to 365 days.

• Now, the government is planning to enforce stricter regulations under the Defense Production Act, so that AI companies like OpenAI, Google, Amazon and others will be required to notify the US government about any new projects they undertake.

• As per the order, companies that are developing foundation models for LLMs “that poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety,” will be required to notify the government and share test results.

• Furthermore, they will also have to share the safety test results and data with the government for review.

• Presently, companies conduct a series of safety tests that don’t have to comply with any standardized regulations for the tests.

 

What Was Said Above This Move?

 

• Speaking at an event at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, said, “We're using the Defense Production Act, which is authority that we have because of the president, to do a survey requiring companies to share with us every time they train a new large language model, and share with us the results—the safety data—so we can review it.” 

• Ahead of this, White House Special Adviser, Ben Buchanan, conveyed that the government wants “to know AI systems are safe before they’re released to the public — the president has been very clear that companies need to meet that bar.”

• Moreover, the government has also stepped up the hiring of AI experts and data scientists, to which Buchanan said, “We know that AI has transformative effects and potential ... We’re not trying to upend the apple cart there, but we are trying to make sure the regulators are prepared to manage this technology.”

 

What Is OpenAI Doing?

 

• As per an announcement, OpenAI partnered up with leading non-profit organization Common Sense Media to educate and spread awareness of the full potential of AI for teens and families.

• This includes highlighting the various risks involved in the use of AI technologies.

• As per the plan, both organizations will collaborate on preparing AI guidelines and education materials for parents, educators and young people.

• This will be followed by curating family-friendly GPTs in the GPT Store, which will be based on Common Sense ratings and standards.

 

What Was Said About This Move?

 

• James Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, said, “Together, Common Sense and OpenAI will work to make sure that AI has a positive impact on all teens and families ... Our guides and curation will be designed to educate families and educators about safe, responsible use of ChatGPT, so that we can collectively avoid any unintended consequences of this emerging technology."

• Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said, “AI offers incredible benefits for families and teens, and our partnership with Common Sense will further strengthen our safety work, ensuring that families and teens can use our tools with confidence.”

• Furthermore, at a Common Sense event, Altman said, “We want to figure out how to make this tool safely and responsibly and broadly available to teens and people who are going to use it as part of their educational experience.”

Do you think the other governments should follow suit and enforce stricter regulations for AI businesses? Do you think we will see more AI developers emulate OpenAI’s approach to AI safety?

Let us know in the comments below!