Trump's AI Task Force To Commission Report On Technology's Risks

President Donald Trump's artificial intelligence task force in its first meeting agreed on Thursday to address risks related to cybersecurity, biosecurity and "model control and accountability" as fears rise over the potential dangers posed by the technology. 

The panel known as the Super Intelligence Force - using the president's preferred term for artificial intelligence - will commission a report from the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology to evaluate those and other concerns, according to a White House account of the meeting. 

The task force will also "develop protocols and mechanisms for labs to provide early warnings and systemized notifications to the government of breaches, hacks, jailbreaks, and other issues," it said.

In addition, the group, led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, plans to "establish a law enforcement and consumer protection coordination committee including the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and various agencies," the White House said.

AI has emerged as a volatile issue in the midterm elections that will decide control of both houses of Congress. Lawmakers of both parties have particularly taken notice of the widespread opposition around the country to data centers, which have been associated with surging electricity costs. 

Alarm over the possibility of widespread job losses and the potential for disaster if humans lose control of AI have largely drowned out promises of its benefits. 

Even so, Trump has rejected pleas for more government regulation of AI, insisting that would hinder the US in its AI competition with China.

He instead forged a voluntary agreement with industry executives that uses outside auditors to assess AI system safety. Under the accord, which Trump brokered with top technology leaders at the White House last month, AI executives pledged to regularly meet to set best industry practices.

The task force, according to the White House account, did not discuss any new laws or rules, but "will engage with frontier model developers and other SI companies, consumer protection groups and civil liberties advocates, industry stakeholders, and federal and state law enforcement agencies to inform and implement its efforts."

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