White House Announces New Set of Rules for Federal Agencies Using AI

The US government has announced that federal agencies using AI tools will be required to follow new safeguards by December 1. The announcement comes from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and was made by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The new rules will be binding on all US agencies and will cover a variety of public situations such as screenings by the Transportation Security Administration and decisions made by agencies dealing with Americans’ health care, employment, and housing. 

The purpose of these new rules is to safeguard the rights of American citizens, keep their data safe and minimize discrimination by AI while continuing to expand the use of AI across various agencies.

What Changes Will We See under The New AI Safeguards?

It’s important to note that the government just wants AI to be an add-on – the real power should still lie within human experts.

For example, if an AI tool is used to diagnose a patient or analyze medical records, then a human expert needs to step in and check the results to ensure it’s correct.

Similarly, if AI is used by a law enforcement agency to make decisions, then those decisions should be reviewed by a human expert. Furthermore, the people affected by the outcome should have the option to seek remedy if they feel they have been wronged by the tool.

For example, the Transportation Security Administration currently uses facial recognition at airports without having to ask the passengers first. However, after the implementation of these rules, the passengers will have the option to opt out of facial recognition without any consequences.

The directive states that unless the agencies can follow these rules, they should cease to use AI in their day-to-day operations.

Several other initiatives have been included in the statement for public safety. For instance, the President’s budget for fiscal year 2025 will have $5 million dedicated to expanding the General Services Administration’s government-wide AI training program that had 7,500 participants from over 85 agencies last year.

It’s impressive how the government has handled the sudden AI boom. A lot of new initiatives and rules have already been put in place to ensure the safe use of AI. However, what’s interesting is that the above-mentioned ‘new’ directive isn’t all that new, and they have been in the making for a long time.

In 2020, Congress passed legislation directing the OMB to publish guidelines for AI use. However, they missed the 2021 deadline. After Biden signed the executive order on AI last year, they finally released the latest draft in November 2023, right on time to tackle the surging AI wave.