White House Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence

On October 30, 2023, United States President Joe Biden issued a landmark Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence “to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI).” The Executive Order builds on previous actions to drive the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI.

“The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more,” stated the Fact Sheet about the Executive Order, which also directed the following actions:

New Standards for AI Safety and Security

• Require that developers of the most powerful AI systems share their safety test results and other critical information with the U.S. government.
• Develop standards, tools, and tests to help ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy.
• Protect against the risks of using AI to engineer dangerous biological materials.
• Protect Americans from AI-enabled fraud and deception by establishing standards and best practices for detecting AI-generated content and authenticating official content.
• Establish an advanced cybersecurity program to develop AI tools to find and fix vulnerabilities in critical software.
• Order the development of a National Security Memorandum that directs further actions on AI and security.

Protecting Americans’ Privacy

• Protect Americans’ privacy by prioritizing federal support for accelerating the development and use of privacy-preserving techniques.
• Strengthen privacy-preserving research and technologies.
• Evaluate how agencies collect and use commercially available information.
• Develop guidelines for federal agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of privacy-preserving techniques.

Advancing Equity and Civil Rights

• Provide clear guidance to landlords, Federal benefits programs, and federal contractors.
• Address algorithmic discrimination.
• Ensure fairness throughout the criminal justice system.

Standing Up for Consumers, Patients, and Students

• Advance the responsible use of AI.
• Shape AI’s potential to transform education.

Supporting Workers

• Develop principles and best practices to mitigate the harms and maximize the benefits of AI for workers.
• Produce a report on AI’s potential labor-market impacts, and study and identify options for strengthening federal support for workers facing labor disruptions.

Promoting Innovation and Competition

• Catalyze AI research across the United States.
• Promote a fair, open, and competitive AI ecosystem.
• Use existing authorities to expand the ability of highly skilled immigrants and nonimmigrants with expertise in critical areas to study, stay, and work in the United States.

Advancing American Leadership Abroad

• Expand bilateral, multilateral, and multistakeholder engagements to collaborate on AI.
• Accelerate development and implementation of vital AI standards.
• Promote the safe, responsible, and rights-affirming development and deployment of AI abroad to solve global challenges.

Ensuring Responsible and Effective Government Use of AI

• Issue guidance for agencies’ use of AI.
• Help agencies acquire specified AI products and services.
• Accelerate the rapid hiring of AI professionals.

“The actions that President Biden directed today are vital steps forward in the U.S.’s approach on safe, secure, and trustworthy AI. More action will be required, and the Administration will continue to work with Congress to pursue bipartisan legislation to help America lead the way in responsible innovation,” the Executive Order concluded. To learn more, visit AI.gov.

Irresponsible uses of AI can lead to and deepen discrimination, bias, and other abuses. President Biden’s Administration has already taken action by publishing the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and issuing an Executive Order directing agencies to combat algorithmic discrimination while enforcing existing authorities to protect people’s rights and safety.

ClearStar is a leading global Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. The use of AI by employers coming under government scrutiny was one of the “2023 Top Trends in Workforce Screening” researched and compiled in a white paper by ClearStar. To learn more, contact ClearStar.

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Thomas Ahearn - Digital Content Editor

Thomas Ahearn is a Digital Content Editor at ClearStar, a leading Human Resources (HR) technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. He writes about a variety of topics in the background screening industry including Artificial Intelligence (AI), "Ban the Box," class action lawsuits, credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Form I-9, identity theft, privacy, social media screening, and workplace violence.

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