The Biden Administration issued a first-of-its-kind Executive Order to ensure the U.S. leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of AI.
The strapline is: “As AI’s capabilities grow, so do its implications for Americans’ safety and security.”
One analyst who has been studying this is Cody Cornell, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Swimlane. Cornell explains to Digital Journal how the executive order will be a catalyst for innovation within in the U.S.
Cornell’s time working in IT and security roles at the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency gave him a first-hand look at security practitioners’ challenges in the public sector.
Cornell begins by setting out some of the apprehensions surrounding artificial intelligence: “The entire idea of AI as a human being is terrifying because now you can’t trust what you see. Before, it used to be the case that people with cell phones were this reporting network that allowed us to see what was going on and allow us to make assessments of what was happening in the world based on video and audio.”
Telling he explains: “That’s not the case anymore, and that’s terrifying as a voter and a citizen since you don’t know what’s true unless you physically witness it yourself.”
So where do you draw the line? Cornell continues: “As a country, we’re known for innovation, especially Silicon Valley. This is what we do, and it drives our economy. Regulating AI needs to be a balancing act as we need to continue to be leading innovation, but we also don’t want to be the reason why things go off the rails.”
What can we expect from the new law?
Cornell assesses the Biden proclamation: “Through this regulation, the government is trying to enforce rules for themselves to ultimately influence industry and have ripple effects out into the broader economy.”
As to the next steps, he ponders: “It will be interesting to see where this goes as legislating AI is really hard since it’s changing so rapidly. I think we will end up with an FDA-style process where the rules and the standards change as the technology evolves.”
In terms of other ramifications, Cornell selects: “This executive order will also be the catalyst for changing how we think about H1B visas. I’ve always thought that the US should be like a college football coach, scouting the world for the greatest talent and then doing everything to convince them to play for our team.”
There are certainly glimmers of hope, according to Cornell: “It’s exciting that there’s a change in perception of how we should be doing this, and I think this will be a huge opportunity to do something positive.”
