OpenAI’s Sam Altman and other tech leaders join federal AI safety board

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai are joining the government’s Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Council, according to The Wall Street Journal. They are joined by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Northrop Grumman’s Cathy Worden, and Delta’s Ed Bastian, along with other leaders in the technology and AI industries. The AI ​​Board will work with and advise the Department of Homeland Security on how it can safely implement AI in the nation’s critical infrastructure. They are also tasked with coming up with recommendations for power grid operators, transport service providers and manufacturing companies on how they can protect their systems against potential threats that may be triggered by advances in technology.

The Biden administration ordered the creation of an AI safety board last year as part of a sweeping executive order that focuses on regulating AI development. IN Homeland Security website, said the board “includes AI experts from the private sector and government who advise the Secretary and the critical infrastructure community.” This was said by the Minister of Internal Security, Alejandro Mayorkas the newspaper that the use of AI in critical infrastructure can significantly improve services – it can, for example, speed up the diagnosis of diseases or quickly detect anomalies in power plants – but they carry significant risk, which the agency hopes to minimize with the help of this advice.

However, one can’t help but wonder if these AI technology leaders can provide guidance that isn’t meant to primarily serve themselves and their companies. Their work centers around advancing AI technologies and promoting their use, ultimately, while the board aims to ensure that critical infrastructure systems use AI responsibly. Mayorkas seems confident that they will do the job properly, but he says the newspaper that technology leaders “understand the mission of this board” and that it is “not a business development mission.”

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