Biden Orders Every US Agency To Appoint a Chief AI Officer

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The White House has announced the 'first government-wide policy (PDF) to mitigate risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and harness its benefits.' To coordinate these efforts, every federal agency must appoint a chief AI officer with 'significant expertise in AI.' Some agencies have already appointed chief AI officers, but any agency that has not must appoint a senior official over the next 60 days. If an official already appointed as a chief AI officer does not have the necessary authority to coordinate AI use in the agency, they must be granted additional authority or else a new chief AI officer must be named.

Ideal candidates, the White House recommended, might include chief information officers, chief data officers, or chief technology officers, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy said. As chief AI officers, appointees will serve as senior advisers on AI initiatives, monitoring and inventorying all agency uses of AI. They must conduct risk assessments to consider whether any AI uses are impacting 'safety, security, civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, democratic values, human rights, equal opportunities, worker well-being, access to critical resources and services, agency trust and credibility, and market competition,' OMB said. Perhaps most urgently, by December 1, the officers must correct all non-compliant AI uses in government, unless an extension of up to one year is granted.

The chief AI officers will seemingly enjoy a lot of power and oversight over how the government uses AI. It's up to the chief AI officers to develop a plan to comply with minimum safety standards and to work with chief financial and human resource officers to develop the necessary budgets and workforces to use AI to further each agency's mission and ensure 'equitable outcomes,' OMB said. Among the chief AI officer's primary responsibilities is determining what AI uses might impact the safety or rights of US citizens. They'll do this by assessing AI impacts, conducting real-world tests, independently evaluating AI, regularly evaluating risks, properly training staff, providing additional human oversight where necessary, and giving public notice of any AI use that could have a 'significant impact on rights or safety,' OMB said. Chief AI officers will ultimately decide if any AI use is safety- or rights-impacting and must adhere to OMB's minimum standards for responsible AI use. Once a determination is made, the officers will 'centrally track' the determinations, informing OMB of any major changes to 'conditions or context in which the AI is used.' The officers will also regularly convene 'a new Chief AI Officer Council to coordinate' efforts and share innovations government-wide. Chief AI officers must consult with the public and maintain options to opt-out of 'AI-enabled decisions,' OMB said. 'However, these chief AI officers also have the power to waive opt-out options 'if they can demonstrate that a human alternative would result in a service that is less fair (e.g., produces a disparate impact on protected classes) or if an opt-out would impose undue hardship on the agency.'

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