President Biden sets up new AI guardrails for military, intelligence agencies

The White House issued its first national security memorandum outlining the use of artificial intelligence for the military and intelligence agencies. The White House also shared a shortened copy of the memo with the public.

The new memo sets up guidelines for military and intelligence agencies for using AI in its day-to-day operations. The memo sets a series of deadlines for agencies to study the applications and regulations of AI tools, most of which will lapse following President Biden’s term. The memo also aims to limit “the most dystopian possibilities, including the development of autonomous weapons,” according to the New York Times.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced the new directive today at the National Defense University as part of a talk on AI’s presence in government operations. Sullivan has been one of the President’s most vocal proponents for examining the benefits and risks of AI technology. He also raised concerns about China’s use of AI to control its population and spread misinformation and how the memo can spark conversations with other countries grappling with implementing its own AI strategies.

The memorandum establishes some hard edges for AI usage especially when it comes to weapons systems. The memo states that AI can never be used as a decision maker for launching nuclear weapons or assigning asylum status to immigrants coming to the US. It also prohibits AI from tracking anyone based on their race or religion or determining if a suspect is a known terrorist without human intervention.

The memo also lays out protections for private-sector AI advance as “national assets that need to be protected…from spying or theft by foreign adversaries,” according to the Times. The memorandum orders intelligence agencies to help private companies working on AI models secure their work and provide updated intelligence reports to project their AI assets.