The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is actively focused on getting guidance out to agencies on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Federal government, Federal Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO) Chris DeRusha said this week.
According to DeRusha, technology teams within the White House are focusing on AI policy as their top issue.
“We’re focused on getting good guidance out to agencies for responsible use of AI,” DeRusha said during the mWISE 2023 Cybersecurity Conference on Sept. 19. “And that’s something that we want to do with the public and so you can expect that we will put that out for public comments soon, because we really need the input, and we want to build that with the community.”
When prodded about the pressure to focus on the rapidly emerging technology and quickly push guardrails out of the White House door, DeRusha said, “I feel like we’re doing an appropriate amount.”
“There’s a lot one can do here, and this is – in my world at least – the number one issue where I sit in the White House and people are focused on IT issues,” the Federal CISO said. “And you can see that with the leadership being exhibited out of the West Wing on a daily basis. And you can see that exhibited in the fact that it was the president who got 15 commitments from top AI companies. And the Vice President has gotten commitments. And they both held meetings and convened meetings here in D.C., on the West Coast.”
“When you have the top two officials here in administration forward on an issue you’re doing a lot, because that means there’s a lot of activity below it,” DeRusha added.
“So I think what’s resulted in that you’ve seen lots of things come out, documents that have come out,” he said. “The AI blueprint last year was really helpful in delineating what safeguards, what principles should be here. And I think that’s useful at least from a leadership perspective, lots of implementation work to do but you got to start with your guardrails of where you’re trying to head – what are your principles?”
The White House announced in July that OMB would be releasing draft policy guidance for Federal agencies to “ensure the development, procurement, and use of AI systems is centered around safeguarding the American people’s rights and safety.”
While there is no timeline set yet, the Biden administration is also slated to unveil an executive order as well as pursue bipartisan legislation to help America “lead the way in responsible innovation” of AI.
