Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of President Joe Biden’s “top three issues,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said Thursday.
“It’s probably one of the top three issues at the White House and across the agencies right now. We had the CEOs of the leading companies in a couple of weeks ago. The President came to that meeting. The Vice President sat through that meeting. It’s a tip-top priority,” Zients said on “Pod Save America.”
“Corporations, the leading [AI] corporations, need to do the right thing and they’re stepping forward with commitments that we’re working on right now that will be announced relatively shortly.” —@WHCOS Jeff Zients on possible AI regulations
Listen now: https://t.co/V1qVh8T2Ul pic.twitter.com/1kxaT1jZNq
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) June 8, 2023
Biden’s chief of staff also stressed the speed at which the White House wants to regulate AI.
“The regulatory process can be relatively slow and here we can not afford to wait a year or two to figure out what makes sense,” Zients said, adding AI “changes every day.” (RELATED: Trump Literally Smooching Fauci? DeSantis AI Ad Lights Up The Internet)
The Biden administration unveiled measures to counter AI’s possible national security risks in May, including $140 million in new funding from the National Science Foundation to create seven new National AI Research Institutes.
Biden has previously said AI “could be” dangerous, but that it “remains to be seen.”
He has previously engaged with ChatGPT and was “fascinated” by the technology, Axios reported.
The White House has previously said Biden’s number one priority is the economy — also the top issue for Americans, according to polls.
“The President was clear that his top priority is investing in the American economy and in American communities, out-competing China, and bringing back American jobs from overseas,” White House assistant press secretary Abdullah Hasan told the Daily Caller in December.