Biden AI Chair Champions Regulation And Mandated Gov Intervention For ‘Inclusivity’

Chair of the National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC) Miriam Vogel emphasized the necessity of government regulation and intervention in achieving “inclusivity” through artificial intelligence (AI) in a recent interview.

Vogel has served as chair of the NAIAC since May 2022 advising the president and White House on AI policy, according to her LinkedIn profile, and she is also the president and CEO of EqualAI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to decreasing “unconscious bias” in AI. President Joe Biden’s administration, in October, published a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights,” citing EqualAI as a consulted stakeholder for the document; and in February, Biden signed an executive order mandating federal government agencies to ensure AI promotes racial equity.

“We can ensure that AI creates more opportunity, more jobs, more education, more inclusivity,” Vogel declared in the June 28 interview with European New School of Digital Studies. “So I think that is the role of government and civil society, is to mandate what the expectations are. If you’re using AI, here’s the ways you need to make sure that society is ready. I think government has to play that role in leading on how society can be ready.”

AI has immense potential for societal advancement, but realizing it will require government intervention through regulations, mandates and collaboration, Vogel asserted in the interview.

Further, in response to a question about content moderation in relation to AI, Vogel said there is a need for “a multi-stakeholder process where we have industry, government, private-public partnerships where civil society comes in as well and helps together answer these questions of what are we exposing ourselves to and our next generation.”

“It needs to have regulatory pieces, but we also need industry playing a role,” she added.

NAIAC praised Biden’s dedication to these issues in a report published in May, stating, “President Biden has clearly articulated his interest in ending discrimination and bias (including algorithmic discrimination and bias).”

EqualAI is included in the appendix of the White House’s “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights” as one of the stakeholders consulted by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) during the crafting of the document. The blueprint frequently includes the word “bias,” asserting that safeguarding citizens should consist of protections “against abuse, bias, and discrimination to ensure that all people are treated fairly when automated systems are used.”

The blueprint also states advancement is necessary “to protect the public from algorithmic discrimination to use and design automated systems in an equitable way,” claiming, “algorithms used in hiring and credit decisions have been found to reflect and reproduce existing unwanted inequities or embed new harmful bias and discrimination.”

Vogel previously worked to combat “bias” in other areas of American society including law enforcement, the workplace, gender and LGBT issues, according to the Brookings Institution. She served as associate deputy attorney general during President Barack Obama’s administration and spearheaded the establishment of “Implicit Bias Training for Federal Law Enforcement.”

EqualAI, NAIAC and the White House OSTP did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.