OSTP Archives | FedScoop https://fedscoop.com/tag/ostp/ FedScoop delivers up-to-the-minute breaking government tech news and is the government IT community's platform for education and collaboration through news, events, radio and TV. FedScoop engages top leaders from the White House, federal agencies, academia and the tech industry both online and in person to discuss ways technology can improve government, and to exchange best practices and identify how to achieve common goals. Fri, 31 May 2024 16:36:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.4 https://fedscoop.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/01/cropped-fs_favicon-3.png?w=32 OSTP Archives | FedScoop https://fedscoop.com/tag/ostp/ 32 32 OSTP requests information for data-focused agenda on disability equity https://fedscoop.com/ostp-requests-information-for-data-focused-agenda-on-disability-equity/ Fri, 31 May 2024 16:36:26 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=78610 The White House office’s RFI seeks public input for developing an agenda to advance equity for the disability community.

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The White House is seeking public input to inform its data-focused policy agenda on disability equity.

In a Thursday posting in the Federal Register, the Office of Science and Technology Policy said it is seeking information for the development of the Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity. OSTP’s questions to the public pertain to informing data collection and public access, describing disparities as well as privacy, security and civil rights. 

Specific questions include the type of framework for “defining and measuring disability” or other considerations of which the Disability Data Interagency Working Group (DDIWG) within OSTP’s National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Equitable Data (SED) should be aware. The office also seeks to understand “what disparities faced by individuals with disabilities are not well-understood through existing federal statistics and data collection,” according to the posting. 

The notice also states: “Though previous work by the SED has identified how privacy, confidentiality and civil rights practices apply to other marginalized groups, OSTP seeks input on privacy, confidentiality and civil rights considerations that are unique to the disability community and/or are experienced differently by individuals with disabilities.”

OSTP’s RFI follows the Biden administration’s 2023 executive order on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government, which directed SED to “coordinate implementation of recommendations” from the Equitable Data Working Group. 

OSTP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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OSTP unveils national STEMM strategy centered on improving workforce diversity and opportunities https://fedscoop.com/ostp-unveils-national-stemm-strategy-centered-on-improving-workforce-diversity-and-opportunities/ Wed, 01 May 2024 21:45:13 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=77871 White House officials said their 2050 cross-sector plan is aimed at bolstering competitiveness and diversifying the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine fields.

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White House officials on Wednesday announced cross-sector actions aimed at enhancing competitiveness and access across the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) fields. 

The Office of Science and Technology Policy said in a fact sheet that it had secured  hundreds of commitments with non-federal organizations to assist in areas of need within STEMM, such as improving representation in entertainment, ensuring inclusive workplaces, enabling related programs to be more accessible, and more.

OSTP’s announcement came during a White House summit on STEMM equity and excellence, expanding on the 2022 STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA) initiative to “lead and coordinate cross-sector action to help achieve greater equity” across science and technology-facing fields.  

The commitment to this effort is intended to “help drive progress” on STEMM Equity and Excellence 2050, a strategic plan released Wednesday by SOA that outlines a national strategy for constructing a diverse workforce with expanded opportunities.

“Knowing that those from underserved communities, individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, rural communities, women, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+ people have long faced barriers to equitable participation in STEMM, this administration has acted to foster a more just STEMM ecosystem,” Kei Koizumi, the principal deputy director for policy at OSTP, said during the event.

The office said in its press release that the SOA’s coalition represents over 200 organizations and “has powered additional commitments towards STEMM equity,” bringing a total of $2 billion to support these efforts. 

“The bold goal is to add 20 million new diverse STEMM professionals to the U.S. workforce across all jobs and sectors by 2050,” the strategic plan’s executive summary states. “This vision requires decades of concerted, coordinated action beginning now.”

OSTP touted non-federal partnerships that complement work done by federal entities, such as the Department of Energy’s first cohort for the agency’s Faculty-Applied Clean Energy Sciences program. That partnership, also announced Wednesday, will work to support the expansion of opportunities and diversification of the STEMM workforce. 

Participants in the DOE’s 10-week summer program were selected from minority-serving institutions that included tribal colleges and universities, historically Black colleges and universities, Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions and others. 

Christy Jackiewicz, chief of the Minority Educational Institutions Division in DOE’s Office of Energy Justice and Equity, said in a statement that program leaders are “excited to partner with [the agency’s Office of Energy Justice and Equity] and [the National Renewable Energy Laboratory] to improve the future of STEM, not only through the faculty of minority-serving institutions but also through the students who will benefit from their knowledge and understanding, both in the classroom and as they enter the workforce of the future.”

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OSTP announces strategy for microelectronics research, outlines plan for enhanced workforce https://fedscoop.com/ostp-announces-strategy-for-microelectronics-research-outlines-plan-for-enhanced-workforce/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 21:24:03 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=76663 The White House’s plan emphasizes the need for an advanced workforce for microelectronics like semiconductors.

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The success of the Biden administration’s national strategy for microelectronics research and the existing CHIPS and Science Act is heavily dependent on the country’s ability to develop and attract new talent, the White House said Friday.

In announcing its National Strategy on Microelectronics Research, the Office of Science and Technology Policy emphasized the need for an enhanced technical workforce over the next five years, while citing the challenge of “fierce” industry competitiveness for skilled workers both domestically and internationally. Though the U.S. has an “aging workforce” that underscores the urgency in adding talent, OSTP noted in the strategy document that for its microelectronics research strategy, “there are not enough students pursuing opportunities across all educational and job levels with the knowledge and skills needed for this workforce.” 

The Subcommittee on Microelectronics Leadership and the Workforce Interagency Working Group play key roles in talent development, taking on the responsibility of coordinating efforts across the educational spectrum and working “closely with new entities that may be established.”

The administration’s focus is on supporting both students and educators across tech disciplines “relevant to microelectronics,” OSTP said, in addition to engaging with the public and raising awareness of career opportunities for the semiconductor industry, preparing an inclusive workforce and driving the research and innovation capacity for microelectronics.

“This whole-of-government strategy encourages the microelectronics R&D community to bring their diverse expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and drive to focus on a common purpose — to ensure that America remains a global leader in this important field,” OSTP Deputy Director for National Security Steve Welby said in a press release. “We now turn to the implementation of this strategy, leveraging the once-in-generation investments by government and the private sector — fueled by President [Joe] Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act and the urgency to energize U.S. semiconductor innovation for the future.”

OSTP points in the report to federal programs that support education, research and workforce training, such as those through agencies like the National Science Foundation, which receives CHIPS funds for microelectronic workforce development activities and investments in STEM education at all levels and settings. 

“For some skill technical positions, non-degree programs such as certificates, certification, diplomas and other stackable credentials are more appropriate than traditional degree programs,” the report noted, calling out the value of hands-on learning environments such as apprenticeships and internships in research laboratories, development centers and manufacturing facilities.

“Particularly, in the most highly specialized areas, exposure to and mentorship by established industry professionals in state-of-the-art facilities can help students acquire the most up-to-date skills,” the strategy states. “Importantly, the variety of learning pathways needs to support all Americans equitably, and development should especially focus on geographic areas and populations that are currently underserved.”

OSTP also touted the need for mechanisms that translate apprenticeship and internship training into college credit to “more easily recruit and retain foreign students and professionals” to meet the industry’s workforce needs, a sentiment echoed in last week’s release of The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024 report.

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NITRD seeks spectrum R&D information on behalf of White House https://fedscoop.com/nsf-spectrum-research-development-white-house/ Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:20:31 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=76090 The National Spectrum Research and Development Plan is intended to act as guidance for government investments into spectrum-related research.

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The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program National Coordination Office (NCO) is requesting information about spectrum research and development in order to assist the White House in developing a national plan. 

NITRD NCO, through the National Science Foundation, issued a request for information on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to further the development and innovation areas of the National Spectrum Research and Development Plan, according to the notice

The R&D plan will “act as an organizing national document, providing guidance for government investments in spectrum-related research and offering valuable insights.” The plan, according to the notice, aims to identify “key innovation areas” in R&D and offer a process to enhance the areas on a consistent basis.

The request is part of President Joe Biden’s November 2023 memorandum on Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy

The requested information includes “recommendations on strategies for conducting spectrum research in a manner that minimizes unnecessary duplication, ensures that all essential spectrum research areas are sufficiently explored and achieves measurable advancements in state-of-the-art spectrum science and engineering.”

The identified “priority areas” as laid out in the notice involve spectrum utilization efficiency, dynamic spectrum access and management, automatic and rapid mitigation of interference problems and others. 

NITRD’s Wireless Spectrum Research and Development Interagency Working Group, or WSRD IWG, is tasked by OSTP with drafting and coordinating the R&D plan, which is expected to be released in “late 2024,” according to the request for information. 

Correction, Feb. 23, 2024: A previous version of this article stated that NSF was working in concert with NITRD on the RFI. This was based on information in the Federal Register notice and from a spokesperson that overstated the agency’s role.

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Ex-White House official says Congress, federal agencies should do more for AI talent search https://fedscoop.com/ex-white-house-official-says-congress-federal-agencies-should-do-more-for-ai-talent-search/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 22:05:32 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=75552 The government needs to “pair mandates with enablement” to ensure that it can hire critical AI talent and upskill existing federal employees, former OSTP deputy CTO tells FedScoop.

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A former White House official told a Senate panel Wednesday that lawmakers should ask the Office of Management and Budget for more authority to ease the hiring of skilled artificial intelligence workers.

During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Jennifer Pahlka, former U.S. deputy chief technology officer within the Office of Science and Technology Policy, said that federal agencies require support to add and encourage AI tech talent, which involves reducing burdens on agencies for hiring processes. Pahlka said that while OPM’s memo that authorizes direct hire authority removes some red tape for agencies, it does not help agencies that have to run separate hiring processes for open positions. 

In an interview with FedScoop after the hearing, Pahlka said that the government needs to “pair mandates with enablement,” and that it is critical to both hire AI talent and upskill existing federal employees. 

“In government, we invest orders of magnitude less than we should and upskilling our people. We should be training folks, not on compliance issues, like how to comply” with the White House’s AI executive order, Pahlka said. “We should be having a huge investment in fundamentals of core digital work as a foundation, including training on AI. We could do a lot more than we’re doing now and we still wouldn’t be doing enough.”

As for next steps, Pahlka said that some existing tools can help these AI recruitment efforts, like Subject Matter Expert Qualifying Assessments, or SME-QAs, which already support a streamlined approach to hiring. If paired with pool hiring, Pahlka said the government could bring on “great people, quickly.”

“We have to recognize that just changing a policy is insufficient; the engagement and education has to go along with it and sometimes it’s very hard to do,” Pahlka told FedScoop. “OPM doesn’t really have the resources. The philanthropy world needs to step up and see this as a critical issue and say, ‘how can we help with all of that stuff that’s hard for a constrained agency to do so that we can get the people we need in government?’”

Pahlka said that she “would love to see a super honest, frank conversation between folks on the Hill and folks in an agency,” where they discuss what barriers to hiring could be removed. 

Noting that she was not able to discuss it during the hearing, Pahlka said that the government’s approach to funding needs to change from a “once and done” procurement philosophy to longer-term maintenance of projects and funding programs. 

She stated that the timeline for funding projects often runs for a year or two, then faces large layoffs before the project becomes neglected during operation and maintenance time. Then, the government calls for modernization efforts for said project. 

“AI is going to make that even more critical. We can just buy something and then be done with it,” Pahlka said. “We need a competency, ongoing, to work with the AI. It’s consistent with what I’m saying overall, which is the thing that we needed to do in the Internet era, that is work that is still undone now, really needs to be done because of AI.”

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OSTP director stresses importance of AI talent search following executive order https://fedscoop.com/ostp-of-ai-talent-search-following-executive-order/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 21:07:07 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=74710 Office of Science and Technology Policy and other consulting agencies have 45 days to plan a “national surge in AI talent in the federal government,” per Biden’s AI EO.

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The talent search for artificial intelligence expertise has begun across federal agencies, and the clock set by the AI executive order is ticking. 

Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar wants to get “great people into government” to assist in regulating and managing AI uses across federal departments and agencies, she said Tuesday in an interview with FedScoop. Prabhakar said that the office is excited to search for AI talent — one of OSTP’s primary tasks as laid out in the long-awaited AI executive order.

One of the highlights of the order includes a push to increase AI expertise in government. OSTP, along with a handful of other agencies, has 45 days to plan a “national surge in AI talent in the federal government.” The office is called to carry out the same talent recruitment task for other emerging technologies as well. 

The AI talent search has already begun in other agencies and departments, including the General Services Administration, where Administrator Robin Carnahan is focused on hiring tech experts to update the agency’s processes and systems, and at the Office of Personnel Management, where Director Kiran Ahuja said in a July memo that the agency would provide other agencies with “general and technical AI competencies” to be used for the hiring and training of AI talent.

Said Prabhakar: “We are looking for great people who want to serve their country and do big things. All kinds of AI expertise. That can be deep machine learning expertise about driving research, but also people who know how to think about how [AI is] going to affect people’s lives and maybe be part of how we can regulate and manage it.”

OSTP showcased different federal research and development projects across agencies and departments Tuesday during a White House “demo day.” Prabhakar said she wanted “people to be able to sample and see everything” at the event. 

Prabhakar attributed the beginning of the conception for the demonstration event to President Joe Biden and how he “always talks about how America can be defined in a single word, and that word is ‘possibilities.’”

“That’s why scientists and engineers come to work every single day. That’s what we get to contribute, is pathways into the future that we want,” Prabhakar said. “I know that federal [research and development] across so many different agencies and departments, it’s just opening these vistas for the future and in so many different areas. … When you see it all together, you start saying, ‘This is what a great nation does to create its future.’ We want to give people that experience and celebrate it.”

Biden’s EO states that OSTP and consulting agencies “shall identify priority mission areas for increased federal government AI talent, the types of talent that are highest priority to recruit and develop to ensure adequate implementation of this order and use of relevant enforcement and regulatory authorities to address AI risks, and accelerated hiring pathways.”

Carnahan, meanwhile, said earlier this year that the GSA is “laser-focused” on hiring experts to update digital services that the agency uses. The EO tasks the GSA with recruiting talent into government, and Carnahan plans to carry out this responsibility partially through the Presidential Innovation Fellows and the U.S. Digital Corps, according to an April interview with FedScoop.

Additionally, the OPM is set to coordinate the rapid advance of a federal AI workforce with OSTP and other consulting agencies, according to the EO. 

Ahuja noted that a major aspect of Biden’s executive order is recruiting tech workers that “can help us scale AI and the federal government.” When asked whether hiring for AI is different from hiring for cyber or IT positions, Ahuja said no, pointing to competencies that OPM released in July for AI-related positions in government. “I think we have to perfect the model of how we hire and then incorporate AI into it,” she said.

Talent acquisition is just one part of many agencies’ involvement with the EO. Prabhakar said that now that it has been signed, the country has a responsibility to establish safe usage and risk management, while also focusing on the implications for work.

AI is “powerful, it’s broad, it’s fast-moving, it’s going to change our lives in lots and lots of different ways,” Prabhakar said. “It’s a power that could be used for good and for ill. [Biden] was very clear from the beginning that our job, the country’s job, is to manage the risk so that we can get all of the benefits that come with it.” 

And while the EO “takes some very important, substantial steps” with regard to safety, privacy, risks for bias and implications for work, Prabhakar acknowledged that “those are only the first steps.”

Madison Alder contributed to this article.

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OSTP’s Arati Prabhakar says OMB guidance on AI to be released ‘soon’ after AI executive order https://fedscoop.com/ostps-arati-prabhakar-says-omb-guidance-on-ai-to-be-released-soon-after-ai-executive-order/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:39:34 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=73846 With reports of an AI executive order dropping next week, Biden’s top science and tech adviser said OMB guidance would follow shortly after.

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President Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence, reportedly set for release next week, will be followed soon after by Office of Management and Budget guidance on how federal agencies should use AI, the White House’s top adviser on science and technology policy said Thursday.

“In parallel with [the AI executive order], we also have announced previously that the Office of Management and Budget is putting out guidance for how the government uses AI,” Arati Prabhakar, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Biden’s top technology adviser, said during a Washington Post event. “And that is a very big deal because getting that right is a tremendous opportunity for leadership.”

“Staff has been working [on the OMB guidance] in parallel with the EO and I expect that to be released soon,” Prabhakar added.

There have been multiple reports this week stating that the White House had sent out invitations for a “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence” event on Oct. 30. The AI executive order is expected to be announced during the Biden-hosted event. 

Prabhakar in September teased the upcoming AI executive order, saying that it will determine how the executive branch uses AI to mitigate risks while also “seizing the huge opportunities.” The EO will “be broad,” she added.

The OMB guidance on AI is expected to be far more detailed about how specifically federal agencies and officials should implement AI technology and policies within their organizations. 

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Experts warn of ‘contradictions’ in Biden administration’s top AI policy documents https://fedscoop.com/experts-warn-of-contradictions-in-biden-administrations-top-ai-policy-documents/ Wed, 23 Aug 2023 22:51:12 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=72248 AI policy specialists say a lack of guidance from the White House on how to square divergent rights-based and risk-based approaches to AI is proving a challenge for companies working to create new products and safeguards.

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The Biden administration’s cornerstone artificial intelligence policy documents, released in the past year, are inherently contradictory and provide confusing guidance for tech companies working to develop innovative products and the necessary safeguards around them, leading AI experts have warned.

Speaking with FedScoop, five AI policy experts said adhering to both the White House’s Blueprint for an AI ‘Bill of Rights’ and the AI Risk Management Framework (RMF), published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, presents an obstacle for companies working to develop responsible AI products.

However, the White House and civil rights groups have pushed back on claims that the two voluntary AI safety frameworks send conflicting messages and have highlighted that they are a productive “starting point” in the absence of congressional action on AI. 

The two policy documents form the foundation of the Biden administration’s approach to regulating artificial intelligence. But for many months, there has been an active debate among AI experts regarding how helpful — or in some cases hindering — the Biden administration’s dual approach to AI policymaking has been.

The White House’s Blueprint for an AI ‘Bill of Rights’ was published last October. It takes a rights-based approach to AI, focusing on broad fundamental human rights as a starting point for the regulation of the technology. That was followed by the risk-based AI RMF in January, which set out to determine the scale and scope of risks related to concrete use cases and recognized threats to instill trustworthiness into the technology.

Speaking with FedScoop, Daniel Castro, a technology policy scholar and vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), noted that there are “big, major philosophical differences in the approach taken by the two Biden AI policy documents,” which are creating “different [and] at times adverse” outcomes for the industry.

“A lot of companies that want to move forward with AI guidelines and frameworks want to be doing the right thing but they really need more clarity. They will not invest in AI safety if it’s confusing or going to be a wasted effort or if instead of the NIST AI framework they’re pushed towards the AI blueprint,” Castro said.

Castro’s thoughts were echoed by Adam Thierer of the libertarian nonprofit R Street Institute who said that despite a sincere attempt to emphasize democratic values within AI tools, there are “serious issues” with the Biden administration’s handling of AI policy driven by tensions between the two key AI frameworks.

“The Biden administration is trying to see how far it can get away with using their bully pulpit and jawboning tactics to get companies and agencies to follow their AI policies, particularly with the blueprint,” Thierer, senior fellow on the Technology and Innovation team at R Street, told FedScoop.

Two industry sources who spoke with FedScoop but wished to remain anonymous said they felt pushed toward the White House’s AI blueprint over the NIST AI framework in certain instances during meetings regarding AI policymaking with the White House’s Office of Science and Technology (OSTP).

Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and House Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., have been highly critical of the White House blueprint as it compares to the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, expressing concern earlier this year that the blueprint sends “conflicting messages about U.S. federal AI policy.”

In a letter obtained exclusively by FedScoop, Arati Prabhakar responded to those concerns, arguing that “these documents are not contradictory” and highlighting how closely the White House and NIST are working together on future regulation of the technology.

At the same time, some industry AI experts say the way in which the two documents define AI clash with one another.

Nicole Foster, who leads global AI and machine learning policy at Amazon Web Services, said chief among the concerns with the documents are diverging definitions of the technology itself. She told FedScoop earlier this year that “there are some inconsistencies between the two documents for sure. I think just at a basic level they don’t even define things like AI in the same way.”

Foster’s thoughts were echoed by Raj Iyer, global head of public sector at cloud software provider ServiceNow and former CIO of the U.S. Army, who believes the two frameworks are a good starting point to get industry engaged in AI policymaking but that they lack clarity.

“I feel like the two frameworks are complementary. But there’s clearly some ambiguity and vagueness in terms of definition,” said Iyer.

“So what does the White House mean by automated systems? Is it autonomous systems? Is it automated decision-making? What is it? I think it’s very clear that they did that to kind of steer away from wanting to have a direct conversation on AI,” Iyer added.

Hodan Omaar, an AI and quantum research scholar working with Castro at ITIF, said the two documents appear to members of the tech industry as if they are on different tracks. According to Omaar, the divergence creates a risk that organizations will simply defer to either the “Bill of Rights” or the NIST RMF and ignore the other.

“There are two things the White House should be doing. First, it should better elucidate the ways the Blueprint should be used in conjunction with the RMF. And second, it should better engage with stakeholders to gather input on how the Blueprint can be improved and better implemented by organizations,” Omaar told FedScoop.

In addition to compatibility concerns about the two documents, experts have also raised concerns about the process followed by the White House to take industry feedback in creating the documents.

Speaking with FedScoop anonymously in order to speak freely, one industry association AI official said that listening sessions held by the Office of Science and Technology Policy were not productive.

“The Bill of Rights and the development of that, we have quite a bit of concern because businesses were not properly consulted throughout that process,” the association official said. 

The official added: “OSTP’s listening sessions were just not productive or helpful. We tried to actually provide input in ways in which businesses could help them through this process. Sadly, that’s just not what they wanted.”

The AI experts’ comments come as the Biden administration works to establish a regulatory framework that mitigates potential threats posed by the technology while supporting American AI innovation. Last month, the White House secured voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies about how AI is used, and it is expected to issue a new executive order on AI safety in the coming weeks.

One of the contributors to the White House’s AI Blueprint sympathizes with concerns from industry leaders and AI experts regarding the confusion and complexity of the administration’s approach to AI policymaking. But it’s also an opportunity for companies seeking voluntary AI policymaking guidance to put more effort into asking themselves hard questions, he said.

“So I understand the concerns very much. And I feel the frustration. And I understand people just want clarity. But clarity will only come once you understand the implications, the broader values, discussion and the issues in the context of your own AI creations,” said Suresh Venkatasubramanian, a Brown University professor and former top official within the White House’s OSTP, where he helped co-author its Blueprint for an ‘AI Bill of Rights.’ 

“The goal is not to say: Do every single thing in these frameworks. It’s like, understand the issues, understand the values at play here. Understand the questions you need to be asking from the RMF and the Blueprint, and then make your own decisions,” said Venkatasubramanian.

On top of that, the White House Blueprint co-author wants those who criticize the documents’ perceived contradictions to be more specific in their complaints.

“Tell me a question in the NIST RMF that contradicts a broader goal in the White House blueprint — find one for me, or two or three. I’m not saying this because I think they don’t exist. I’m saying this because if you could come up with these examples, then we could think through what can we do about it?” he said.

Venkatasubramanian added that he feels the White House AI blueprint in particular has faced resistance from industry because “for the first time someone in a position of power came out and said: What about the people?” when it comes to tech innovation and regulations. 

Civil rights groups like the Electronic Privacy Information Center have also joined the greater discussion about AI regulations, pushing back on the notion that industry groups should play any significant role in the policymaking of a rights-based document created by the White House.

“I’m sorry that industry is upset that a policy document is not reflective of their incentives, which is just to make money and take people’s data and make whatever decisions they want to make more contracts. It’s a policy document, they don’t get to write it,” said Ben Winters, the senior counsel at EPIC, where he leads their work on AI and human rights.

Groups like EPIC and a number of others have called upon the Biden administration to take more aggressive steps to protect the public from the potential harms of AI.

“I actually don’t think that the Biden administration has taken a super aggressive role when trying to implement these two frameworks and policies that the administration has set forth. When it comes to using the frameworks for any use of AI within the government or federal contractors or recipients of federal funds, they’re not doing enough in terms of using their bully pulpit and applying pressure. I really don’t think they’re doing too much yet,” said Winters.

Meanwhile, the White House has maintained that the two AI documents were created for different purposes but designed to be used side-by-side as initial voluntary guidance, noting that both OSTP and NIST were involved in the creation of both frameworks.

OSTP spokesperson Subhan Cheema said: “President Biden has been clear that companies have a fundamental responsibility to ensure their products are safe before they are released to the public, and that innovation must not come at the expense of people’s rights and safety. That’s why the administration has moved with urgency to advance responsible innovation that manage the risks posed by AI and seize its promise — including by securing voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies that will help move us toward AI development that is more safe, secure, and trustworthy.”

“These commitments are a critical step forward and build on the administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and AI Risk Management Framework. The administration is also currently developing an executive order that will ensure the federal government is doing everything in its power to support responsible innovation and protect people’s rights and safety, and will also pursue bipartisan legislation to help America lead the way in responsible innovation,” Cheema added.

NIST did not respond to requests for comment.

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White House science adviser defends ‘conflicting’ AI frameworks released by Biden admin https://fedscoop.com/arati-prabhakar-ai-bill-of-rights-rmf-conflicting-definitions/ Wed, 02 Aug 2023 20:30:00 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=71316 Arati Prabhakar said the White House AI Blueprint and the NIST AI framework "are not contradictory," in response to queries from House lawmakers.

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The Biden administration’s AI ‘Bill of Rights’ Blueprint and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework do not send conflicting messages to federal agencies and private sector companies attempting to implement the two AI safety frameworks within their internal systems, according to the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In a letter obtained exclusively by FedScoop, Arati Prabhakar responded to concerns raised by senior House lawmakers on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Oversight Committee over apparent contradictions in definitions of AI used in the documents.

“These documents are not contradictory. For example, in terms of the definition of AI, the Blueprint does not adopt a definition of AI, but instead focuses on the broader set of “automated systems,” Prabhakar wrote in a letter sent to House Science Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., a few months ago.

“Furthermore, both the AI RMF and the Blueprint propose that meaningful access to an AI system for evaluation should incorporate measures to protect intellectual property law,” Prabhakar added.

In the letter, Prabhakar also described the “critical roles” both documents play in managing risks from AI and automated systems, and said they illustrate how closely the White House and NIST are working together on future regulation of the technology.

The two Republican leaders sent a letter in January to the OSTP director voicing concern that the White House’s AI ‘Bill of Rights’ blueprint document is sending “conflicting messages about U.S. federal AI policy.”

Chairman Lucas and Chairman Comer were highly critical of the White House blueprint as it compares with the NIST AI risk management framework.

Prabhakar in her letter also noted the close partnership between NIST and OSTP regarding AI policymaking and the high engagement both entities have had with relevant stakeholders within industry and civil society in crafting AI policy.

She also highlighted that the AI ‘Bill of Rights’ document recognizes the need to protect technology companies’ intellectual property. Although it calls for the use of confidentiality waivers for designers, developers and deployers of automated systems, it says that such waivers should incorporate “measures to protect intellectual property and trade secrets from unwarranted disclosure as appropriate.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in April that NIST’s AI framework represents the “gold standard” for the regulatory guidance of AI technology and the framework has also been popular with the tech industry.

This came after the Biden administration in October 2022 published its AI ‘Bill of Rights’ Blueprint, which consists of five key principles for regulating the technology: safe and effective systems, algorithmic discrimination protections, data privacy, notice and explanation and human alternatives, consideration and fallback.

Chairman Lucas and Chairman Comer’s engagement with OSTP earlier this year regarding conflicting messages being sent by the Biden administration on AI policy followed concerns expressed by industry and academia about varying definitions within the two documents and how they relate to the definitions used by other federal government agencies.

While they are both non-binding, AI experts and lawmakers have warned about the chilling effect that lack of specificity within framework documents could have on innovation both inside government and across the private sector.

“We’re at a critical juncture with the development of AI and it’s crucial we get this right. We need to give companies useful tools so that AI is developed in a trustworthy fashion, and we need to make sure we’re empowering American businesses to stay at the cutting edge of this competitive industry,” Chairman Lucas said in a statement to FedScoop.

“That’s why our National AI Initiative called for a NIST Risk Management Framework. Any discrepancies between that guidance and other White House documents can create confusion for industry. We can’t afford that because it will reduce our ability to develop and deploy safe, trustworthy, and reliable AI technologies,” he added.

Meanwhile, the White House has repeatedly said the two AI documents were created for different purposes but designed to be used side-by-side and noted that both the executive branch and the Department of Commerce had been involved in the creation of both frameworks.

OSTP spokesperson Subhan Cheema said: “President Biden has been clear that companies have a fundamental responsibility to ensure their products are safe before they are released to the public, and that innovation must not come at the expense of people’s rights and safety. That’s why the Administration has moved with urgency to advance responsible innovation that manage the risks posed by AI and seize its promise—including by securing voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies that will help move us toward AI development that is more safe, secure, and trustworthy.”

“These commitments are a critical step forward, and build on the Administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and AI Risk Management Framework. The Administration is also currently developing an executive order that will ensure the federal government is doing everything in its power to support responsible innovation and protect people’s rights and safety, and will also pursue bipartisan legislation to help America lead the way in responsible innovation,” Cheema added.

Editor’s note, 8/2/23: This story was updated to add further context about NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework and prior concerns raised by AI experts.

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Former White House AI policy advisor Dennis Chornenky joins UC Davis Health  https://fedscoop.com/dennis-chornenky-joins-uc-davis-health/ Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:47:39 +0000 https://fedscoop.com/?p=70229 Chornenky was a senior advisor and presidential innovation fellow at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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Dennis Chornenky, former senior advisor on artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technology for the White House, has been named chief AI advisor to the University of California at Davis academic health center.

Chornenky was a senior advisor and presidential innovation fellow at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy where he led initiatives on AI policy, digital health, and national security during both the Trump and Biden administrations.

“Dennis is a nationally recognized leader in AI with an impressive track record of bringing organizations together so they can realize the full benefits of this transformative technology, said Ashish Atreja, chief information officer and chief digital health officer at UC Davis Health. “We are excited to have him at UC Davis Health and build an open-innovation model of validated AI that supports patients, faculty, researchers as well as our academic and industry partners.”

Chornenky was previously an executive for decades at the intersection of healthcare and advanced technology, with a focus on AI strategy and governance including senior roles at UnitedHealth Group and Morgan Stanley.

Chornenky has also served as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Lazard, as a startup CEO, and as an executive advisor to multiple healthcare and technology organizations, federal agencies, and startups.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UC Berkeley, an MBA from Oxford University and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard University, where he was trained as an epidemiologist and clinical data scientist. 

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