By Courtney Rozen
WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) – The four leaders of US President Donald Trump’s AI task force are slated to meet on Thursday, task force vice chair Scott Kupor told Reuters, adding that he expects the full committee to convene next week as pressure builds on Washington to take action on AI.
The task force is expected to help shape the administration’s approach to AI at a pivotal moment for the technology.
Public uneasiness with AI, and the small group of people who seemingly hold sway over it, has risen in recent months. Most US voters think Trump’s administration and Congress are not taking the risks of AI seriously enough and want the government to write new regulations for the technology, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday.
The AI companies “need to step up and demonstrate that they are taking concerns that people have around security and vulnerabilities very seriously, as do we,” Kupor said.
Kupor said he expects the group to release a charter outlining its goals and responsibilities after its first full committee meeting. The group will have four to five staff members who will be assigned to the committee full-time, he said.
Trump has dubbed the group the Super Intelligence Task Force, using his preferred term for artificial intelligence. It is led by Intelligence Director Jay Clayton, with Kupor, Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson and Defense Department technology lead Emil Michael. Trump calls the Defense Department the Department of War.
Kupor said he will focus on engaging industries outside the technology sector, including banking, healthcare and utilities, to better understand how AI could affect their exposure to cyber threats. Michael will work directly with AI developers, Kupor said.
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
