Congress issues AI policy blueprint
Twenty-four members of Congress on Wednesday released their report on their work to develop an American vision for responsible innovation in artificial intelligence that represents appropriate guardrails to protect against current and emerging threats.
With 66 key findings, lawmakers made 89 recommendations to create a “carefully designed, durable policy framework” based on an approach they said balances innovation but can protect American citizens from potential harm under widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.
Far from the final word from Congress on AI issues, lawmakers said their findings and recommendations should be viewed as a tool for identifying and evaluating AI policy proposals moving forward.
“It is unreasonable to expect Congress to enact legislation this year that could serve as its final word on AI policy,” lawmakers at the conference said. a report.
Instead, Congress should adopt a “flexible approach that allows us to respond appropriately and in a way that is meaningful, achievable, and takes advantage of all available evidence and ideas.”
They said lawmakers must continue to learn about AI “to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of its policies and update them as AI technologies evolve and their impacts” if the United States is to lead AI development and lead a global vision for AI public policy. In the new scheme.
The AI task force, which launched in February, includes 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats and is led by co-chair Reps. Jay Obernault, R-Calif., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif. The lawmakers said in the 253-page report that they meet regularly to gather information on AI issues from more than 100 subject matter experts in industry, government, civil society and academia.
The overall policy objectives are to identify the novelty of AI issues, encourage AI innovation, protect against the risks and harms of AI, empower government through AI, emphasize the use of a sectoral organizational structure, take a gradual approach and keep humans at the center of AI policy, Accordingly. To the report.
Provides recommendations for government use of artificial intelligence; Federal preemption of state law; data privacy; national security; R&D and standards; Civil rights and civil liberties; Education and workforce; intellectual property; content authenticity in open and closed AI systems; energy use and grid reliability; And small businesses and specific sectors – agriculture, healthcare, financial services.
The lawmakers also said they support sector-specific policies to take a flexible and focused approach to AI policy and leverage sector-specific regulatory expertise within federal agencies and other parts of the government to use their existing authority to respond to the use of AI within their domains.
“This will enable more informed and efficient engagement between federal agencies and entities that use artificial intelligence,” the lawmakers said. “Agencies’ expertise should remain focused on areas where they can be most effective.”
In addition to supporting sector-based regulation of AI, they call for increased federal investments in scientific research that enables innovations in AI hardware, algorithmic efficiency, and the development of energy technology and energy infrastructure.
Regulators would also benefit from relying on the federal repository of AI resources, such as AI-ready data and computing hardware, the lawmakers said. Thus, they mentioned continued investment in federal R&D.
“Congress will need to continue federal R&D efforts, support AI evaluations and advance AI standardization efforts,” the lawmakers said.
To protect civil rights, lawmakers recommended empowering sector regulators with “the tools and expertise to address risks associated with artificial intelligence in their fields.”
As for the healthcare sector, they acknowledge that AI technologies have the potential to improve multiple aspects of healthcare research, diagnosis and care delivery.
“AI can quickly analyze large sets of data, improve diagnostic accuracy, streamline processes and automate routine tasks, all of which have the potential to improve efficiency and effectiveness in treatment, reduce burdens on healthcare practitioners, and free up more time for patient care.” said the bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Task Force.
But they warn that the continued evolution of AI capabilities and its integration into critical health systems has also raised new political issues.
“Some of the most notable challenges include data availability and quality, incomplete or inaccurate responses, non-individualized recommendations, decision transparency, data privacy and cybersecurity, interoperability between existing systems and AI, and liability for errors that occur or are enabled by AI models and decisions.” “These models are created and disseminated in a way that promotes financial gains over patient care and safety,” they said.
Their key findings for the healthcare sector are:
- The use of AI in healthcare can reduce administrative burdens and accelerate drug development and clinical diagnostics.
- The lack of uniform and ubiquitous standards for medical data and algorithms hinders system interoperability and data exchange.
Their recommendations for the healthcare sector are:
- Encouraging practices to ensure that AI in healthcare is safe, transparent and effective.
- Maintain strong support for AI-related healthcare research.
- Create incentives and guidelines to encourage risk management of AI technologies in healthcare across different deployment settings to support AI adoption, improve privacy, enhance security, and prevent disparate health outcomes.
- Support the development of liability standards related to AI issues.
- Support appropriate payment mechanisms without stifling innovation.
The Bipartisan Congressional Plan for AI also includes a number of resources, including a complete overview of federal AI R&D efforts, and a list from the House AI Task Force that encourages lawmakers and future Congresses to continue investigating 15 opportunities and challenges related to… With artificial intelligence. An overview of the adoption and use of artificial intelligence in various healthcare modalities.
Because rapid progress could transform the economy and national security, congressional leaders have formed a task force to develop a policy road map.
“Developing a bipartisan vision for AI adoption, innovation, and governance is no easy task, but it is an essential one as we look to the future of AI and ensure that Americans see real benefits from this technology,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement this week. .
“Members of the Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence have worked hard over the past year to develop a report that is serious, sober, and objective in nature,” Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries added. “I am encouraged by the completion of the report and hope it will be useful for moving forward with informed legislative action.”
Andrea Fox is a senior editor at Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS media publication.