The AI Policy Forum (AIPF) is an initiative of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing to move the global conversation about the impact of artificial intelligence from principles to practical policy implementation. Formed in late 2020, AIPF brings together leaders in government, business, and academia to develop approaches to address the societal challenges posed by the rapid advances and increasing applicability of AI. The co-chairs of the AI Policy Forum are Aleksander Madry, the Cadence Design Systems Professor; Asu Ozdaglar, deputy dean of academics for the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and Luis Videgaray, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and director of MIT AI Policy for the World Project. Here, they discuss talk some of the key issues facing the AI policy landscape today and the challenges surrounding the deployment of AI. The three are co-organizers of the upcoming AI Policy Forum Summit on Sept. 28, which will further explore the issues discussed here. Q: Can you talk about the ongoing work of the AI Policy Forum and the AI policy landscape generally?

Members of the public sector, private sector, and academia convened for the second AI Policy Forum Symposium last month to explore critical directions and questions posed by artificial intelligence in our economies and societies. The virtual event, hosted by the AI Policy Forum (AIPF) -- an undertaking by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing to bridge high-level principles of AI policy with the practices and trade-offs of governing -- brought together an array of distinguished panelists to delve into four cross-cutting topics: law, auditing, health care, and mobility. In the last year there have been substantial changes in the regulatory and policy landscape around AI in several countries -- most notably in Europe with the development of the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act, the first attempt by a major regulator to propose a law on artificial intelligence. In the United States, the National AI Initiative Act of 2020, which became law in January 2021, is providing a coordinated program across federal government to accelerate AI research and application for economic prosperity and security gains. Finally, China recently advanced several new regulations of its own. Each of these developments represents a different approach to legislating AI, but what makes a good AI law?

On Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7, the AI Policy Forum -- a global effort convened by researchers from MIT -- will present their initial policy recommendations aimed at managing the effects of artificial intelligence and building AI systems that better reflect society's values. Recognizing that there is unlikely to be any singular national AI policy, but rather public policies for the distinct ways in which we encounter AI in our lives, forum leaders will preview their preliminary findings and policy recommendations in three key areas: finance, mobility, and health care. The inaugural AI Policy Forum Symposium, a virtual event hosted by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, will bring together AI and public policy leaders, government officials from around the world, regulators, and advocates to investigate some of the pressing questions posed by AI in our economies and societies. The symposium's program will feature remarks from public policymakers helping shape governments' approaches to AI; state and federal regulators on the front lines of these issues; designers of self-driving cars and cancer-diagnosing algorithms; faculty examining the systems used in emerging finance companies and associated concerns; and researchers pushing the boundaries of AI. Media RSVP: Reporters interested in attending can register here.

The choices that technologists, policymakers, and communities make in the next few years will shape the relationship between machines and humans for decades to come. The rapidly increasing applicability of AI has prompted a number of organizations to develop high-level principles on social and ethical issues such as privacy, fairness, bias, transparency, and accountability. Building on those broader principles, the AI Policy Forum, a global effort convened by the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, will provide an overarching policy framework and tools for governments and companies to implement in concrete ways. "Our goal is to help policymakers in making practical decisions about AI policy," says Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. "We are not trying to develop another set of principles around AI, several of which already exist, but rather provide context and guidelines specific to a field of use of AI to help policymakers around the world with implementation." "Moving beyond principles means understanding trade-offs and identifying the technical tools and the policy levers to address them.