Last week in Washington, DC, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith delivered timely remarks in conjunction with the release of a milestone whitepaper, Governing AI: A Blueprint for the Future.
- You can watch a recording of Brad Smith’s comments and a follow-up Q&A on LinkedIn. His remarks can also be heard as a podcast.
- The link to the whitepaper can be found here: Governing AI: A Blueprint for the Future.
- Brad Smith’s foreword to the whitepaper, “How do we best govern AI,” appears on the Microsoft on the Issues blog.
The whitepaper includes a five-point blueprint for addressing several current and emerging AI issues through public policy, law, and regulation. We encourage you to explore all of these resources, which help foster a wide-ranging discussion about steps society can take to ensure that AI serves the public good.
Thank you for reading. Below, you’ll find our roundup of tech policy news and a featured podcast.
This Week in Washington
- Politico and Roll Call: Top officials from the EU and the U.S. gathered to discuss a tough question the world is facing: how to regulate AI. These discussions have taken place as technology experts such as Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Geoffrey Hinton a top scientist of Google AI; and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, signed on to a statement from the Center for AI Safety emphasizing the urgent need for regulation.
- StateScoop: Alan Davidson, administrator of the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), told lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee that states can use their Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds on fixed wireless and satellite technology, in addition to fiber optic broadband networks.
- Axios: A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Abraham Accords Cybersecurity Cooperation Act of 2023 to boost the partnership between Abraham Accords countries in the Middle East and the Department of Homeland Security to combat hostile cyber actors.
- Reuters: Paul Rosen spoke before the Senate Banking Committee and stated that officials are developing new rules which would restrict U.S. investments in Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing.
- The Washington Post: As the Biden administration looks to protect space equipment from cyberattacks, the State Department has developed a Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy looking to strengthen space asset resilience and keep U.S. Diplomats central in the conversation.
Article Summary
- Harvard Business Review: Many companies have viewed AI as a tool to help employees’ productivity, but the technology can also strengthen their soft skills and help them ask better questions.
- Wall Street Journal: Meta Platforms are threatening to remove news from its sites in California if the Journalism Preservation Act, a law that will require technology platforms to pay publishers, is passed into law. This bill could cause revisions to a similar federal bill sitting in Congress.
- New York Times and The Washington Post: The effects of social media on children have been a growing concern, so mental health professionals have come together to develop guidelines that may help them be more intentional online. This comes after the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory showcasing how social media contributes to mental health issues in children.
- Crosscut: The Washington State Broadband Office announced it received more than $121 million in new network grants to extend its rural broadband efforts. These funds will connect 15,000 residents across the state to the internet.
- Forbes: Concerns over TikTok being a cybersecurity risk may have found validation after thousands of creators on the app have unknowingly had their sensitive information stored in China. This information is accessible to employees there.
Featured Podcast
Microsoft
- Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith
AI may be the most consequential technology advance of our lifetime. Rapid advances are creating new opportunities, challenges, and questions that require the public and private sectors to come together to ensure that this technology serves the public good. In this special episode, recorded as part of an event hosted by Microsoft in Washington D.C., I share how AI is leading to new breakthroughs in research, healthcare, and productivity, the guardrails required to ensure accountability and transparency, and a five-point blueprint to help create AI Policy, Law, and Regulation. (Governing AI: A blueprint for our future – May 30, 2023)