White House Proposes Guidelines for Regulating The Use of AI

The Trump administration is proposing new rules to guide future federal regulation of artificial intelligence used in medicine, transportation and other industries.

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But the vagueness of the principles announced by the White House is unlikely to satisfy Al 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 Al 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 Al systems to such an impossibly high standard that society cannot enjoy their benefits,’ the memo says.

The rules won't affect how federal agencies such as law enforcement use facial recognition and other forms of Al. They are specifically limited to how federal agencies devise new Al regulations for the private sector. There's a 60-day public comment period before the rules take effect.