What the departing White House chief tech advisor has to say on AI

Abstraction: Biden OSTP director reflects on AI policy, risks, and future under Trump

Key points:

• Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy since 2022, was first to demonstrate ChatGPT to President Biden and instrumental in the 2023 executive order on AI safety and transparency
• Deepfakes and image-based sexual abuse are the AI risk that has "fully manifested in horrific ways"; biological weapons risk turned out marginal compared to pre-existing Google search capabilities
• California's AI safety bill was vetoed because it was "impractical" — assessment methodologies for safety, effectiveness, and trustworthiness remain unsolved deep research questions
• CHIPS Act resulted in all five leading advanced semiconductor companies (Intel, TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron) now building fabs in the US — unique globally
• Immigration policy gridlock is collateral damage harming STEM talent recruitment; US faces strategic competition with China over AI talent and IP
• Trump administration signaled intent to nullify Biden's AI executive order, citing it as hindering innovation

Connections: Arati Prabhakar · White House Ostp · Biden Administration · AI Policy · AI Safety · Semiconductor Industry

Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/02/1107534/what-the-departing-white-house-chief-tech-advisor-has-to-say-on-ai/