US House Task Force Releases ‘Blueprint’ for Federal AI Responsibility

A U.S. House of Representatives task force on artificial intelligence on Tuesday released a report of more than 250 pages outlining the potential benefits and harms of the technology.

The 24 members of the bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) said it met with more than 100 experts over months of research, culminating in 66 findings and 89 recommendations to serve as a “blueprint for future actions that Congress can take to address advances in AI technologies.”

“The bipartisan House AI Task Force report provides a foundation both to ensure that America leads in AI innovation and to ensure that we have appropriate guardrails to protect Americans,” said Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), in a statement. Lieu co-chaired the task force with Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.).

The group said the report is “not the final word on AI,” and that “many issues of significant relevance to AI were not fully explored,” including international cooperation, supply chain issues, antitrust, critical infrastructure, environmental impact, and law enforcement.

During a press conference, Obernolte called attention to the task force’s developed concept of “incrementalism.”

“We think it would be foolish to assume we know enough about AI to pass one big bill next month and be done with the job of AI regulation,” he said. AI is growing in use and advancing too fast, and it will take time and constant attention to regulate, he said.

Obernolte said it was important to note that AI is “already largely regulated” in the U.S. He said Americans have a fear of the contrary, but “that is absolutely not true.” The report’s points are on duplicative mandates – whether existing laws and regulations address concerns.

“If we focus on mitigating the harmful effects of AI, we won’t have to worry about defining exactly what AI is or is not — we need to focus on regulating outcomes,” Obernolte added.

The report’s chapters include findings and recommendations for government use, data privacy, national security, education, intellectual property, healthcare, and small business – as well as other sectors. The analysis is framed by seven principles: identify AI issue novelty; promote innovation; protect against risks and harms; empower government with AI; affirm a regulatory structure; take an incremental approach; keep humans at the center of AI policy, the group said.