The Senate took some initial steps toward regulating the use of artificial intelligence in government this week as senators from both parties indicated they would push for amendments to the annual defense policy bill that seek to put some curbs on the fast-growing technology.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. said he is pushing for this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a package of amendments that address several issues related to AI and national security.
Among the measures proposed in the AI ​​amendment is a “bug bounty” system that would encourage white-hat hackers to help the Defense Department find vulnerabilities in the AI ​​systems they use. This is an idea that Sen. Mike Rounds, RS.D. Has worked for more than a year.
“We’re trying to put together a bounty system, where we find bugs that use AI, that we have alternative ways to protect against them,” Rounds told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
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Congress is moving closer to legislation on artificial intelligence.
Other ideas for the amendment are aimed at gaining a better understanding of how the Pentagon uses AI and how it can defend against threats posed by AI. It includes language intended to expand information about the government’s current AI capabilities and provide guidance to Congress and officials on where it is going by calling for various reports from Pentagon officials as well as financial regulators.
“Artificial intelligence is here right now, used today to defend our country, used by our adversaries,” Rounds said, explaining other provisions in the amendment. “What we want to do is find out on a department-by-department basis where they’re using AI today, what their plans are, whether they have solutions to protect our country from other people who are using AI.”
“It’s also telling the Department of Defense that we want to know what their long-term plan is not only for the data collection that you can do on AI, but also in terms of how they’re going to integrate all the related AI systems that they currently use or plan to use in the future.” Rounds said. “And finally, we’re talking about personnel … who understand AI and will incorporate AI in the future.”
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Sen. Mike Rounds is one of Capitol Hill’s leading voices on AI. (Tom Williams/Pool/Getty Images/File)
Source by [Fox News]
