Biden to meet with experts about the dangers of AI on visit to San Francisco
President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet researchers and advocates with expertise in artificial intelligence on Tuesday in San Francisco as his administration attempts to tackle potential dangers of a technology that could fuel misinformation, job losses, discrimination and privacy violations.
The meeting comes as Biden ramps up efforts to raise money for his 2024 reelection bid, including from tech billionaires. While visiting Silicon Valley on Monday, he attended two fundraisers, including one co-hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman who has numerous ties to AI businesses. The venture capitalist was an early investor in Open AI, which built the popular ChatGPT app, and sits on the board of tech companies including Microsoft that are investing heavily in AI.
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Experts Biden is expected to meet with Tuesday include some of Big Tech’s loudest critics. The list includes children’s advocate Jim Steyer, who founded and leads Common Sense Media; Tristan Harris, executive director and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology; Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League; and Fei-Fei Li, Co-Director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute.
Some of the experts have experience working inside major tech companies. Harris, a former Google product manager and design ethicist, has spoken out about how social media companies like Facebook and Twitter can harm people’s mental health and amplify misinformation.
Biden’s meetings with AI researchers and tech executives underscore how the president is engaging both sides as his campaign tries to attract wealthy donors while his administration examines the risks of the fast-growing technology. While Biden has been critical of tech giants, executives and workers from companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and Meta also contributed millions of dollars to his campaign in the 2020 election cycle.
“AI is a top priority for the president and his team. Generative AI tools have increased significantly in the past several months and we don’t want to solve yesterday’s problem,” a White House official said in a statement.
The Biden administration has been focusing on AI’s risks. Last year, the administration released a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights,” outlining five principles developers should keep in mind before they release new AI-powered tools. The administration also met with tech CEOs, announced steps the federal government took to address AI risks and advanced other efforts to “promote responsible American innovation.”
Lina Khan, he Federal Trade Commission chairperson who was appointed by Biden, said in a May op-ed published in the New York Times that the rise of tech platforms like Facebook and Google cost users their privacy and security.
“As the use of A.I. becomes more widespread, public officials have a responsibility to ensure this hard-learned history doesn’t repeat itself,” Khan said.
Tech giants use AI in various products to recommend videos, power virtual assistants and transcribe audio.
