Commerce Marks One-Year Anniversary of Historic Biden-Harris Administration Executive Order on AI

Leading up to the inaugural convening of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes, Commerce Department highlights implementation of President Biden’s historic AI Executive Order, which tasked the Department with numerous responsibilities to spur the safe development, deployment and adoption of responsible AI. 

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo marked the one-year anniversary of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ historic Executive Order (EO) on the Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development of AI by reflecting on the progress made by the Commerce Department to implement significant pieces of the landmark EO. 

“President Biden instructed me and leaders across the Administration to pull every lever to keep pace with rapid advancements in AI to mitigate the risks so we can harness the benefits. Over the last year, that is precisely what we’ve done at Commerce, building a national AI safety institute, collaborating with leaders in industry, academia, and civil society, and working with partners and allies around the world to write the rules of the road on AI,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “We’ve made tremendous progress over the last year, but we’re clear-eyed on the work that remains. We’re going to continue charging ahead to fulfill the goals of this historic EO to spur the safe development and deployment of AI in our societies.” 

Since President Biden signed the AI EO in October 2023, the Department of Commerce has led implementation of significant policy priorities. In the last year, the Department has established, staffed and stood up the U.S. AI Safety Institute (U.S. AISI); created a consortium dedicated to AI safety compromised of approximately 280 members; released new guidance and software to help improve the safety, security and trustworthiness of artificial intelligence systems; signed agreements for formal collaboration on AI safety research, testing, and evaluation with leading AI companies; and completed pre-deployment testing of a new advanced model, among other action items. 

Just last week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the release of the National Security Memorandum (NSM) on AI. The NSM is designed to galvanize federal government adoption of AI to advance the national security mission. Among other key announcements, the NSM designates the U.S. AI Safety Institute, housed within Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as the center of the whole-of-government approach to advanced AI model testing and evaluation. It empowers the U.S. AISI to collaborate with the national security and intelligence community to ensure we’re working in lock step to drive the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI. 

A White House Fact Sheet underscoring AI accomplishments in the year since the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic EO is available here. 

Key Commerce EO Priorities Implemented Include: 

Defense Production Act authorities to compel developers of the most powerful AI systems to report vital information, especially safety test results, to the U.S. government. These companies have notified the Department of Commerce about the results of their red-team safety tests, their plans to train powerful models, and large computing clusters they possess capable of such training. Last month, the Department of Commerce proposed a rule to require the reporting of this information on a quarterly basis.
Led the way on AI safety testing and evaluations to advance the science of AI safety. The U.S. AISI at the Department of Commerce has begun pre-deployment testing of major new AI models through recently signed agreements with two leading AI developers. 
Developed guidance and tools for managing AI risk. The U.S. AISI and NIST at the Department of Commerce published voluntary frameworks for managing risks related to generative AI and dual-use foundation models, and earlier this month, AISI released a Request for Information on the responsible development and use of AI models for chemical and biological sciences.
Issued a first-ever National Security Memorandum (NSM) on AI. The NSM directs concrete steps by federal agencies to ensure the United States leads the world’s development of safe, secure and trustworthy AI; to enable agencies to harness cutting-edge AI for national security objectives, while protecting human rights and democratic values; and to advance international consensus and governance on AI. This essential document designates the AI Safety Institute as the center of the whole-of-government approach to advanced AI model testing and will guide rapid and responsible AI adoption by the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. 
Identified measures—including approaches for labeling content and improving transparency—to reduce the risks posed by AI-generated content. The Department of Commerce submitted to the White House a final report on science-backed standards and techniques for addressing these risks, while NIST has launched a challenge to develop methods for detecting AI-generated content. 
Released a report on the potential benefits, risks, and implications of dual-use foundation models for which the model weights are widely available, including related policy recommendations. The Department of Commerce’s report draws on extensive outreach to experts and stakeholders, including hundreds of public comments submitted on this topic.
Announced a competition for up to $100 million to support the application of AI-enabled autonomous experimentation to accelerate research into – and delivery of – targeted, industry –relevant, sustainable semiconductor materials and processes. 
Published guidance addressing vital questions at the intersection of AI and intellectual property. To advance innovation the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released guidance documents addressing the patentability of AI-assisted inventions, on the subject matter eligibility of patent claims involving inventions related to AI technology, and on the use of AI tools in pursuing patent and trademark applications.
Engaged foreign leaders on strengthening international rules and norms for AI, including at the 2023 UK AI Safety Summit, where Vice President Harris and Secretary Raimondo participated. U.S. AISI Director Elizabeth Kelly later participated in the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024. In the United Kingdom, Vice President Harris and Secretary Raimondo unveiled a series of U.S. initiatives to advance the safe and responsible use of AI, including the establishment of AISI at the Department of Commerce.
Announced a global network of AI Safety Institutes and other government-backed scientific offices to advance AI safety at a technical level. This network, which will launch in November at the inaugural network convening in San Francisco, will accelerate critical information exchange and drive toward common or compatible safety evaluations and policies.
Developed comprehensive plans for U.S. engagement on global AI standards and AI-related critical infrastructure topics. NIST and DHS, respectively, will report on priority actions taken per these plans in 90 days. Additionally, the United States has launched a global network of AI Safety Institutes and other government-backed scientific offices to advance AI safety at a technical level. 

Read the full report from the U.S. Department of Commerce: Read More