artificial intelligence

How companies might react to Biden's AI executive order

NBC Universal, Inc.

President Biden made it official Monday: artificial intelligence is on the White House’s radar. 

The president signed an executive order — a first for A.I. — which created some guard rails, focusing on safety, consumer privacy, equity, civil rights and innovation. 

“It’s very, very profoundly important for humanity’s future,” said Dr. Fei-Fei Li. 

 Li, the director of Stanford’s A.I. institute, called the move an important first step in managing the game-changing technology. 

“But I think leadership also means responsible leadership,” said Li. “The Bay Area has an opportunity to show that not only are we helping the world to usher in the A.I. transformation era, but we can show the world how we can responsibly use A.I.”

Already, dozens of A.I. companies have launched and grown in the Bay Area. One of them, a start-up called Protect, welcomed the oversight. 

“It’s a big step in the right direction,” said Matt Frischer, the company’s co-founder, adding that the order will bring the right kind of attention to A.I.

“We’re looking to build services and offerings and value on top of the piece of architecture,” Frischer said. “I think this empowers it.” 

NBC Bay Area’s Scott Budman has more on  how other companies are reacting. Watch that above.

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