The Biden administration is wading into a contentious debate about whether the most powerful artificial intelligence systems should be “open-source” or closed. The White House said Wednesday it is seeking public comment on the risks and benefits of having an AI system’s key components publicly available for anyone to use and modify. The inquiry is one piece of the broader executive order that President Joe Biden signed in October to manage the fast-evolving technology.
Quick Read
- The Biden administration is exploring the debate around the openness of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, considering both the risks and benefits of making AI model components publicly accessible.
- This initiative is part of a broader executive order signed by President Joe Biden in October, aimed at managing the rapidly developing AI technology sector.
- Companies in the tech industry have differing views on the openness of their AI models, with some highlighting the potential dangers and others advocating for the importance of open science for research and innovation.
- Meta Platforms and IBM are notable proponents of a more open approach to AI development.
- The executive order specifically mentions the need to study “dual-use foundation models with widely available weights,” referring to the numerical values crucial to an AI model’s performance.
- President Biden has tasked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo with consulting experts and providing recommendations by July on balancing the innovation benefits and security risks associated with open AI models.
- The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has opened a 30-day public comment period to gather input for a report to the president.
- The administration acknowledges the complexity of the issue, suggesting that solutions could be found that promote both innovation and safety in AI development.
- Meta has expressed its intention to share its experiences of developing AI technologies openly with the Biden administration, emphasizing the goal of extending the benefits of AI to a broader audience.
The Associated Press has the story:
White House wades into debate on ‘open’ versus ‘closed’ AI systems
Newslooks- (AP)
The Biden administration is wading into a contentious debate about whether the most powerful artificial intelligence systems should be “open-source” or closed.
The White House said Wednesday it is seeking public comment on the risks and benefits of having an AI system’s key components publicly available for anyone to use and modify. The inquiry is one piece of the broader executive order that President Joe Biden signed in October to manage the fast-evolving technology.
Tech companies are divided on how open they make their AI models, with some emphasizing the dangers of widely accessible AI model components and others stressing that open science is important for researchers and startups. Among the most vocal promoters of an open approach have been Facebook parent Meta Platforms and IBM.
Biden’s order described open models with the technical name of “dual-use foundation models with widely available weights” and said they needed further study. Weights are numerical values that influence how an AI model performs.
When those weights are publicly posted on the internet, “there can be substantial benefits to innovation, but also substantial security risks, such as the removal of safeguards within the model,” Biden’s order said. He gave Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo until July to talk to experts and come back with recommendations on how to manage the potential benefits and risks.
Now the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration says it is also opening a 30-day comment period to field ideas that will be included in a report to the president.
“One piece of encouraging news is that it’s clear to the experts that this is not a binary issue. There are gradients of openness,” said Alan Davidson, an assistant Commerce secretary and the NTIA’s administrator. Davidson told reporters Tuesday that it’s possible to find solutions that promote both innovation and safety.
Meta plans to share with the Biden administration “what we’ve learned from building AI technologies in an open way over the last decade so that the benefits of AI can continue to be shared by everyone,” said a written statement from Nick Clegg, the company’s president of global affairs.
