The Google brand logo hangs above the entrance to the Google Building on January 20, 2023, in New York City. Google was one of the 60 tech companies and groups that signed on to a letter asking Congress to establish an artificial intelligence safety institute. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
License PhotoOct. 22 (UPI) — A group of leading technology companies and organizations in the country joined forces on Tuesday to call on Congress to permanently authorize the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute by the end of the year.
Calling for science-based standards to be implemented as guardrails as AI technology continues to grow at a breakneck pace, the 60 companies and groups said the institute, which would be located in the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, is needed immediately.
Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI signed on to the letter to Congress from the Information Technology Industry Council and Americans for Responsible Innovation. The companies are among the leaders in the emerging and controversial field of AI.
“This work at NIST is already underway, in close partnership with a cross-section of stakeholders,” the letter said. “As other nations around the world are establishing their own AI safety institutes, furthering NIST’s ongoing efforts is essential to advancing U.S. AI innovation, leadership and national security.”
The letter said House and the Senate committees have already advanced their own bipartisan bill to address some of the issues concerning them — Senate Bill 4178, the Future of AI Innovation Act, and House Resolution 9497, the AI Advancement and Reliability Act.
The letter said the United States has an opportunity to lead the world in AI safety or concede that leadership to other countries.
“Now the two chambers must come together on final legislation to codify and provide resources for a NIST U.S. AI Safety Institute focused on research and development and pre-deployment testing and evaluation of the resilience and safety of AI systems,” the letter said.
