The Trump administration is proposing new federal rules for regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the private sector, but those regulations do not address concerns about a dearth of accountability as computers increasingly assume human responsibilities in high-risk settings. A White House document said agencies must weigh fairness, lack of bias, openness, transparency, safety, and security in deciding regulatory action. However, the rules will not apply to how federal agencies like law enforcement use AI. U.S. chief technology officer Michael Kratsios said he hopes these guidelines can be a model for other Western democratic institutions to protect shared values without excessive regulation.

The Trump administration is proposing new rules to guide future federal regulation of artificial intelligence used in medicine, transportation and other industries. But the vagueness of the principles announced by the White House is unlikely to satisfy AI watchdogs who have warned of a lack of accountability as computer systems are deployed to take on human roles in high-risk social settings, such as mortgage lending or job recruitment. The White House said that in deciding regulatory action, U.S. agencies "must consider fairness, non-discrimination, openness, transparency, safety, and security." But federal agencies must also avoid setting up restrictions that "needlessly hamper AI innovation and growth," reads a memo being sent to U.S. agency chiefs from Russell Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. "Agencies must avoid a precautionary approach that holds AI systems to such an impossibly high standard that society cannot enjoy their benefits," the memo says.