Highlights: The White House issued draft rules today that would require federal agencies to evaluate and constantly monitor algorithms used in health care, law enforcement, and housing for potential discrimination or other harmful effects on human rights.

Once in effect, the rules could force changes in US government activity dependent on AI, such as the FBI’s use of face recognition technology, which has been criticized for not taking steps called for by Congress to protect civil liberties. The new rules would require government agencies to assess existing algorithms by August 2024 and stop using any that don’t comply.

  • Cris@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I mean that broadly seems like a good thing. Execution is important, but on paper this seems like the kind of forward thinking policy we need

    • pandacoder@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Quite frankly it didn’t put enough restrictions on the various “national security” agencies, and so while it may help to stem the tide of irresponsible usage by many of the lesser-impact agencies, it doesn’t do the same for the agencies that we know will be the worst offenders (and have been the worst offenders).

  • KeraKali@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    “If the benefits do not meaningfully outweigh the risks, agencies should not use the AI,” the memo says. But the draft memo carves out an exemption for models that deal with national security and allows agencies to effectively issue themselves waivers if ending use of an AI model “would create an unacceptable impediment to critical agency operations.”

    This tells me that nothing is going to change if people can just say their algoriths would make them too inefficient. Great sentiment but this loophole will make it useless.

    • paris@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      11 months ago

      This seems to me like an exception that would realistically only apply to the CIA, NSA, and sometimes the FBI. I doubt the Department of Housing and Urban Development will get a pass. Overall seems like a good change in a good direction.

        • kautau@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Agreed but it’s at least a step forward, setting a precedent for AI in government use. I would love a perfect world where all bills passed are “all or nothing” legislation but realistically this is a good start, and then citizens should demand tighter oversight on national security agencies as the next issue to tackle

          • pandacoder@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            “next issue to tackle”

            It’s been the next issue to tackle since at least October 26th, 2001. They have no accountability. Adding these carve outs is just making it harder to get accountability.

        • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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          11 months ago

          They’re exactly who will carry on using it, even if there weren’t any exemptions.

        • Dark ArcA
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          11 months ago

          Well that and customs/border patrol

        • postmateDumbass@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Like either of those agencies will let us know what they are doing in the first place.

          At a certain level, there are no rules when they never have to tell what they are doing.

        • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          given the “success” of Israel’s hi tech border fence it seems like bureacracies think tech will work better than actually, you know, resolving/preventing geopolitical problems with diplomacy and intelligence.

          I worry these kind of tech solutions become a predictable crutch. Assuming there is some kind of real necessity to these spy programs (debatable) it seems like reliance on data tech can become a weakness as soon as those intending harm understand how it works

        • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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          11 months ago

          I’m actually less worried about them.

          Local police departments on the other hand, can arrest and get you sent to jail based on flimsy facial recognition, and it doesn’t even make the local news.

        • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          the fact that the CIA and NSA will have the AI is the most effective argument for why we should have the AI.

          It’s the basic idea of the second amendment all over again:

          • It would be great if nobody had guns
          • But the government isn’t going to stop having guns
          • And only one side having guns is way worse than everyone having guns
          • So everyone gets to have guns

          The exact same applies in this situation with AI:

          • It would be great if nobody had AI
          • But the government isn’t going to stop having AI
          • And only one side having AI is way worse than everyone having AI
          • So everyone gets to have AI
        • Redrum714@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Well they already are lol. It makes their jobs much easier so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have better library’s than the public services.

    • masquenox@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Great sentiment but

      It’s not a “great sentiment” - it’s essentially just more of the same liberal “let’s pretend we care by doing something completely ineffective” posturing and little else.

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      Democrats are so fucking naive. They actually think that a system of permission slips is sufficient to protect us from the singularity.

      OpenAI’s original mission, before they forgot it, was the only workable method: distribute the AI far and wide to establish a multipolar ecosystem.

      • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        Extremes hate everything, so it doesn’t really matter what they think.

        • Redrum714@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Extreme leftists share the equivalent brain power as Trump supporters

          • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Hey extreme lefty here, I just want healthcare, cheap housing, and to be left the fuck alone. Sure killing a few billionares and sending prosperity preachers to the coldest pit of Hel would be fun and all but I just want to do my own thing and not have to deal with rich cunts trying to exploit my labor. Is that too much to ask?

            • phillaholic@lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              I don’t think that’s extreme lefty. Extreme would be those people wanting to replace capitalism, make everything government controlled, and be just as authoritarian and anti-democratic as the right already are.

              • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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                11 months ago

                I also wish to replace capitalism, with a mix of co-ops and syndicats. Maybe with some carved out exceptions for bussinesses that require say seasonal workers but dont reuire many workers for most of the year.

                I also want to burn down prosperity churches and commit the blood eagle on billionaires. I am an extremist, I just happen to be pragmatic and realistic enough to know what I can realistically get. Tankies are just fascists with a red coat of paint.

      • pandacoder@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        He did something: add national security loopholes

        The worst possible offenders aren’t really being reined in by this executive order.

      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        Sleepy Joe is just a manufactured slur by a demented idiot supported only by second-long video clips of Biden between going to meetings and making changes.

  • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    I swear to god there has to be an entire chapter in Gödel Escher Bach about how this is literally impossible.

    • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
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      11 months ago

      They know, the DNC wanted single payer initially and compromised and they’ve been the party with a single payer platform ever since.

      If the DNC at any point had the house and 2/3rds of the Senate then we would have Single Payer Health Care right now. We don’t because they can’t.

  • kapx132@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Watchmen watching over themselves, what could possibly go wrong right?

  • paf0@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Interesting. I want algorithms to warn us about potential harms by Joe Biden. What if we were able to fund an AI run by the GAO that can tell us when government decisions make the majority of our lives worse?

    It’s a long way off and might be a bad idea to trust an AI outright, but I just wish we had a more data informed government.

    • Syringe@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      You might be interested in data.gov. The Obama admin kicked of the Government Open Data Initiative to provide transparency in government. Agencies have been given a means to publish their data, which US taxes pay for. You’d be surprised what’s in there. It’s not an algorithm, but you could certainly build one from that if you wanted to.

  • bioemerl@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    As long as he doesn’t start getting in the way of open source algorithms were fine.

    Delay llama 3 and I’m voting for whoever runs against Biden. No exceptions, I will become a single issue voter and this will be my issue.

    • The Assman@sh.itjust.works
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      11 months ago

      Pretty dumb dawg. The people running against him want christofascism. Not becoming the Christian version of Iran is my single issue.

      • bioemerl@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        Nope, this is the most important issue for me. It overrides all other concerns.

          • bioemerl@kbin.social
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            11 months ago

            The thing that has the most direct and pressing impact on my life right now. A ban on open source AI would be like a ban on watching television.

            • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              11 months ago

              I must guess you cannot get pregnant, aren’t a minority, as well as are wealthy. Otherwise I cannot see how this can ever be true.

              • bioemerl@kbin.social
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                11 months ago

                That second one doesn’t matter when it comes to abortion because guys also have wives and girlfriends who can get pregnant and it’s pretty important they can abort when they do. Acting like abortion isn’t something that impacts men as well is nothing just isn’t the truth.

                And I’m not really wealthy, but I live a pretty slimmed down lifestyle with very few expenses such the money is not a direct concern.

                When there are no pressing issues for me to vote for those things become stuff I would vote along the lines of, and I side with a Democrats on all of them.

                But I’m not some idiot who’s going to vote for the sake of other people, I vote for issues that matter to me and nothing else.

                Don’t fuck with AI (and continue funding Ukraine) and I’ll be on their side. Simple as that.

                • mars@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  11 months ago

                  Why not vote for the sake of other people when their lives, health, and safety are on the line?

        • deur@feddit.nl
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          11 months ago

          I sure hope you are a strawman account because you are an idiot if this is who you are.

          • bioemerl@kbin.social
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            11 months ago

            The idiot is the person who votes based on other people’s priorities.

            If you want to believe garbage about some impending Christian fascist state you’re more than welcome to, but reality is quite a bit more mundane.

                • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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                  11 months ago

                  Aint doomer, just a very big follower of hope for the best prepare for the worst. Has kept my kin and ancestor alive in the past will do the same in the future. But then again I aint the retard who’s more worried about useless tech junk that’ll probably have minimum effect on society as whole.

                  I probably wont convince ya of jack and or shit, but what I can do is point out that not looking out for other folks usually ends badly for people. A shunned man is a deadman.

    • krellor@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      I don’t think you have anything to worry about. All this requires is that any models used by the government are tested for bias. Which is a good thing.

      Go ask an early generation ai image generator to make pictures of people cleaning and it will give you a bunch of pictures of women. There are all sorts of examples of racial, sex, and religious biases in the models because of the data they were trained on.

      Requiring the executive agencies to test for bias is a good thing.

      • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        The same way they do it with crypto bullshit I’d imagine. Prosecute people for export.

        Edit: my bad. Daddy government can only do good. That’s why we support Israel.

          • bioemerl@kbin.social
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            11 months ago

            Is there something confusing in that sentence? The US has already banned the export of cards above a certain speed to China. It would be simple to extend that control.

    • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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      11 months ago

      This will entrench big tech in federal government, but I’m not too worried about limits on the government.

      • bioemerl@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        Yeah, the only concern I have so far is the leverage of the defense powers act to require foundational model development to sent red team results to the Fed. That’s a hint that will enable them to ban release of models in the future.