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IBM, Adobe among tech companies joining White House's AI commitments

Eight more major firms have signed a list of pledges to help govern the use of artificial intelligence

By Steven Huff
President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The White House announced Tuesday that eight major tech firms, including Adobe, IBM, and chipmaker Nvidia, have signed President Joe Biden's voluntary AI commitments aimed at ensuring the new technology is used responsibly.

The commitments mandate actions to mitigate negative uses of artificial intelligence, like watermarking content generated by AI tools such as ChatGPT and text-to-image creator Midjourney.

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The White House said in a press release that the companies have taken "a critical step toward developing responsible AI by signing on."

The eight top firms -- which also include Cohere, Palantir, Salesforce, Scale AI and Stability -- promise to test these products rigorously for safety before they hit the market. According to the White House, they will examine cyber risks and societal impact and do so with transparency by sharing safety tips and other findings.

In July, seven other U.S. tech giants made the commitment: Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI.

Along with pre-launch testing, the companies have committed to protecting the basic building blocks of AI systems from security threats. This means creating channels for users to report issues found after product launches, ensuring a smooth path to fixing problems once they arise.

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The White House also said that in addition to watermarking, the signees are committed to maintaining public trust by releasing reports about what their AI can and can't do.

Fundamentally, the White House seeks to minimize risks like bias and privacy invasion while using AI to tackle significant challenges, like addressing climate change.

The announcement comes a day before tech leaders, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter (now X) owner Elon Musk, head to Capitol Hill for a closed-door "AI Insight Forum" convened by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. They are expected to address many of the same issues.

Schumer has said lawmakers are concerned that AI "dangers could be maximized, and the opportunities could be minimized."

In a statement regarding the newly signed companies, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients echoed Schumer's concerns.

"The president has been clear: Harness the benefits of AI, manage the risks and move fast -- very fast. And we are doing just that by partnering with the private sector and pulling every lever we have to get this done."

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