Meta, Google and OpenAI pledge to the White House that they will develop AI responsibly

The White House is bringing together the top seven companies in AI on Friday to make a series of voluntary promises to protect users.

The companies – Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI – have all agreed to a series of White House requests to address the many risks posed by artificial intelligence. Promises include investment in cyber security, discrimination research and a new watermarking system that notifies users when content is AI-generated.

The companies entered into these agreements voluntarily, so there are no consequences for the time being if they fail to keep their promises. Many of these commitments are not expected to be met on Friday, but companies are expected to work on implementing them immediately.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, a White House official said the Biden administration is currently working on an executive order to address some of the risks posed by AI. The official declined to provide specifics, but said the action could take place across federal agencies and departments.

Over the past few months, the Biden administration has met with tech executives and labor and civil rights leaders to discuss AI. In May, the White House announced more funding and policy guidance for companies developing artificial intelligence technology, including $140 million to the National Science Foundation to start seven new National AI Research (NAIR) Institutes. Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI and other companies also agreed to allow their language models to be publicly evaluated at this year’s Def Con.

Friday’s announcement comes nearly a month after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rolled out his plan for Congress to regulate the technology without stifling innovation. The plan, the SAFE (Safety, Accountability, Basis, Explanation) Framework, does not provide specific policy requests, but lays down legislation to address AI’s potential to harm national security, cause job losses and generate misinformation. calls upon manufacturers to work together.

“AI could be our most brilliant innovation ever, a force that could ignite a new era of technological progress, scientific discovery and industrial power,” Schumer said of his plan last month.

Schumer’s plan also included a series of briefings for senators on the technology. He will host the third briefing next week. In the first two meetings the technology was explained and its risks to national security were presented.

Since Schumer’s announcement, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation to regulate the technology. Some new rules limiting how the Defense Department can use generic AI have made their way into the National Defense Authorization Act, which is slated to pass this year. Senators are expected to vote to approve the measure sometime next week. according to cnn,

As for the White House summit, representatives from all seven companies are expected to converge on the White House on Friday for a physical signature on these commitments. The White House has not said what time the event will take place.