Governments around the world are exploring the use of artificial intelligence to manage data and provide public services, and it would create risks if nations start using AI solutions that are not from the United States, warned Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and a two-time Wash100 awardee.
During a recent event, the official recalled his experience convincing nations to remove telecommunications equipment made by the Chinese technology company Huawei.
“Whether it’s the way you pay your taxes, whether it’s your health care records, whether it’s small things like if you want to get a permit to go to national park for a campsite – all of this stuff is going to be part of the AI fabric,” he explained during the event. “And it would be a huge problem if the model that is fine-tuned to generate these AI solutions isn’t from America.”
America’s AI Stack for Export
Kratsios’ comments follow the White House’s issuance of an AI Action Plan, which tasked the Department of Commerce to team up with industry to develop full-stack AI export packages. Offering a technology stack for export instead of individual tools could make adoption easier for foreign governments.
The official also pointed out that, while a lot of countries want to implement AI, the specifics of how they use the technology remain unclear. He shared that the U.S. can “fill in the blanks” for foreign government partners.
“We have to show them what the potential is for AI for their people, and their country and their economies, and make it as easy as humanly possible for them to implement it,” Kratsios said.
NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation
Kratsios also addressed the recent rebranding of the AI Safety Institute, which was established under the previous administration, to the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. The OSTP director explained that the AI Safety Institute was too focused on setting up guardrails, curtailing innovation.
The new center, he revealed, will conduct model measurements and evaluations.
The Center for AI Standards and Innovation will operate under the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It will figure out how to measure a model, which would be invaluable to industry.
