Biden Issues Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence
President Biden recently issued an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which establishes the administration’s principles on artificial intelligence (AI) and requires or encourages executive agencies and other regulatory agencies to develop regulations and guidance to achieve the AI-related goals laid out in the Executive Order.
As part of the White House’s general efforts to advance equity and civil rights, the Executive Order seeks to encourage the use of AI tools to address discrimination and biases against protected groups in the housing and consumer financial markets. Amongst other things, the Directors of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the CFPB are encouraged to consider requiring regulated entities to use AI to evaluate and minimize the bias and disparities in their underwriting models, automated collateral-valuation and appraisal processes. Further, HUD is required to, and the CFPB is encouraged to, issue additional guidance addressing how the use of tenant screening systems can lead to discriminatory outcomes and how the FHA, CFPA, or ECOA apply to advertising of housing, credit, and other real estate-related transactions through digital platforms, including those that use algorithms to facilitate advertising delivery. The Executive Order also requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a public report with best practices for financial institutions to manage AI-specific cybersecurity risks.
More broadly, the Executive Order identifies the following eight guiding principles and priorities that departments and agencies should adhere to when undertaking the actions set forth in the Executive Order: (1) an assurance that AI is safe and secure; (2) the promotion of responsible innovation, competition, and collaboration; (3) a commitment to supporting American workers; (4) the development of AI policies that are consistent with the administration’s dedication to advancing equality and civil rights; (5) the protection of the interests of Americans who use, interact with, or purchase AI or AI-enabled products in their daily lives, especially in critical fields like financial services; (6) the protection of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, including through the Federal Government ensuring that the collection, use, and retention of data is lawful, secure, and mitigates privacy and confidentiality risks; (7) the management of risks from the Federal Government’s use of AI and an increase in its internal capacity to regulate, govern, and support responsible use of AI to deliver better results for Americans; and (8) a demonstration of leadership toward global societal, economic, and technological progress.
The Executive Order also sets out numerous actions to be taken by departments and agencies across government that are intended to: (1) ensure the safety and security of AI technology; (2) promote innovation and competition; (3) support workers; (4) advance equity and civil rights; (5) protect consumers, patients, passengers, and students; (6) protect privacy; (7) advance the Federal Government’s use of AI; and (8) strengthen American leadership abroad. These actions directed by the Executive Order must be taken within a specific number of days, ranging from 30 days to 365 days after the date of Executive Order.
