Biden may regulate AI for 'disinformation,' 'discriminatory outcomes'

Republican Rep. Lance Gooden is concerned that AI could eventually replace human decision-making in government and other critical areas of society. The Biden administration is pursuing regulations for artificial intelligence systems that would require government audits to ensure they produce trustworthy outputs, which could include assessments of whether AI is promoting "misinformation" and "disinformation." Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of communications and information at the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), said in a speech at the University of Pittsburgh this week that government audits of AI systems are one way to build trust in this emerging technology. "Much as financial audits create trust in the accuracy of financial statements, accountability mechanisms for AI can help assure that an AI system is trustworthy," he said in his prepared remarks. "Policy was necessary to make that happen in the finance sector, and it may be necessary for AI." President Biden's administration is considering regulations that would require audits of AI systems to make sure they output they deliver contains no "misinformation" or "disinformation."