Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. have introduced a bill that would establish a national initiative to boost artificial intelligence technology use in federal agencies.The proposed Artificial Intelligence in Government Act would require the creation of an advisory board to recommend strategies for executive agencies to facilitate AI adoption into the federal government, Schatz said in a statement published Wednesday.
“The U.S. won’t have the global competitive edge in AI if our own government isn’t making the most of these technologies,” Schatz added.
The measure would also direct federal agencies such as the General Services Administration, Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management to provide AI-focused recommendations encompassing competitiveness and cooperation, research investment and workforce solutions, respectively.
“Creating a tech policy lab and an advisory board to guide the government on emerging technologies is fundamental to establishing needed policies for use of AI, like facial recognition,” said Fred Humphries, corporate vice president of U.S. government affairs for Microsoft.
