Recently there’s been a push by the U.S. government to figure out this AI thing. After all, China has a big long-term plan. We should, right?
So President Trump issued an executive order in February, and the White House put together this glossy website to talk about AI initiatives.
It’s all just noise. Here’s what the executive order says:
- We should continue to lead in AI by (a) leading; (b) developing standards; (c) training; (d) fostering public trust; and (e) promoting international cooperation.
- All departments should pursue these objectives: (a) invest in AI; (b) invest in data; (c) reduce barriers to using AI (but not so much that it impacts safety etc.); (d) develop secure standards; (e) train people; and (f) develop an action plan!
- The National Science and Technology Council Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence should coordinate all this.
- AI R&D is a funding priority, depending on your mission of course.
- Publish a bunch of stuff in the Federal Register asking for public comments, and consider these goals within 120-180 days of the order.
Bottom line: someone should really start thinking about this stuff and maybe we should spend some money on it? There is zero vision in any of this.