US Companies Like MS and Google Aim to Maintain AI Leadership
Amid fierce global competition centered on U.S. big tech companies such as Microsoft (MS) and Google in the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the U.S. White House has announced plans to accelerate the development of a national strategy related to AI. This move is interpreted as a response to the urgent need for risk management of AI, following the circulation of AI-generated fake news depicting the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters exploding, which even impacted the stock market.
On the 23rd (local time), the White House announced a "new effort for cutting-edge responsible AI research, development, and deployment." The White House emphasized, "AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time across a wide range of applications," and "President Joe Biden has made it clear that to seize the opportunities presented by AI, it is first necessary to manage the associated risks."
The White House stated that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will listen to public opinions as part of setting national priorities related to mitigating AI risks, protecting individual rights, ensuring safety, and utilizing AI to enhance people's lives.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), through this process, strategies are expected to be developed not only for positive uses of AI, such as expanding access to government services, but also to address issues like increased hacking capabilities and the potential for AI-generated content to interfere with elections.
This announcement is seen as the White House acknowledging that the impact of AI-generated fake news is more serious than expected. Earlier, on the 22nd, a photo of an explosion at the Pentagon, the Department of Defense headquarters located in Arlington County, Virginia, was posted on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The image showing black smoke rising within the Pentagon was shared by Russian state media RT and the well-known Twitter financial news account 'ZeroHedge,' quickly spreading worldwide. The photo, which shook the U.S. stock market, was revealed to be AI-generated fake news and ended as a hoax, but it reportedly caused significant shock inside and outside the U.S. government.
Separately, the White House updated the federal investment roadmap related to AI R&D, first announced in 2019, after four years. Through this, it set priorities and goals for investment, emphasizing that it will "maintain U.S. leadership in the development and use of trustworthy AI systems."
Additionally, the White House announced that it held a session to hear opinions from the field regarding employers' use of automated systems for surveillance, monitoring, evaluation, and management. The White House introduced that workers from various sectors such as call centers, truck transportation, warehousing, and healthcare participated to provide their views.
WSJ evaluated the White House's announcement as "evidence that policymakers are paying attention due to consumers' rapid adoption of ChatGPT."
Earlier this month, the White House held a meeting chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris with CEOs from the AI industry, including MS and Google. President Biden made a surprise visit to the meeting, demonstrating his keen interest in both the potential and the risks of emerging AI technologies.
The AI industry has been emphasizing the need for regulation. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT which sparked the generative AI boom, expressed the opinion that government authorities should establish regulations and that there should be international organizations similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to address the issues. MS and Google have also voiced the need for regulation, led by their CEOs.
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