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On Oct. 30, 2023, the White House released a long-awaited executive order on artificial intelligence, which covers a wide variety of topics. Here I'll briefly cover the EO and spend more time on the industry responses, which have been numerous.

The EO itself can be found at the Whitehouse.gov briefing room: White House tackles artificial intelligence with new executive order. Heres an opening excerpt:

With this Executive Order, the President directs the most sweeping actions ever taken to protect Americans from the potential risks of AI systems:

A memo from AI.gov covers federal government agency responsibilities and drills down on how agencies will be on the hook for tapping chief AI officers, adding risk management practices to AI and more.

Experts say its emphasis on content labeling, watermarking and transparency represents important steps forward.

What are the new rules around labeling AI-generated content?The White Houses executive order requires the Department of Commerce to develop guidance for labeling AI-generated content. AI companies will use this guidance to develop labeling and watermarking tools that the White House hopes federal agencies will adopt.

Will this executive order have teeth? Is it enforceable?While Bidens executive order goes beyond previous US government attempts to regulate AI, it places far more emphasis on establishing best practices and standards than on how, or even whether, the new directives will be enforced.

What has the reaction to the order been so far? Major tech companies have largely welcomed the executive order.

Brad Smith, the vice chair and president of Microsoft, hailed it as 'another critical step forward in the governance of AI technology.' Googles president of global affairs, Kent Walker, said the company looks 'forward to engaging constructively with government agencies to maximize AIs potentialincluding by making government services better, faster, and more secure.'

EY offers this excellent piece on key takeaways from the Biden administration executive order on AI:

The Executive Order is guided by eight principles and priorities:

On Wednesday and Thursday, delegates from 27 governments around the world, as well as the heads of top artificial intelligence companies, gathered for the worlds first AI Safety Summit at this former stately home near London, now a museum. Among the attendees: representatives of the U.S. and Chinese governments, Elon Musk, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

The high-profile event, hosted by the Rishi Sunak-led U.K. government, caps a year of intense escalation in global discussions about AI safety, following the launch of ChatGPT nearly a year ago. The chatbot displayed for the first timeto many users at leastthe powerful general capabilities of the latest generation of AI systems. Its viral appeal breathed life into a formerly-niche school of thought that AI could, sooner or later, pose an existential risk to humanity, and prompted policymakers around the world to weigh whether, and how, to regulate the technology. Those discussions have been taking place amid warnings not only that todays AI tools already present manifold dangersespecially to marginalized communitiesbut also that the next generation of systems could be 10 or 100 times more powerful, not to mention more dangerous.

Reporting on the summit, The Daily Mail (UK) wrote, "Elon Musk warns AI poses 'one of the biggest threats to humanity' at Bletchley Park summit... but Meta's Nick Clegg says the dangers are 'overstated.'"

Speaking in a conversation with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Musk said that AI will have the potential to become the most disruptive force in history.

But one thing is clear: the new AI EO just signed by President Biden will serve as the near-term road map for most AI related research, testing and development in the US.

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Artificial Intelligence Executive Order: Industry Reactions - Government Technology