Biden says AI brings ‘incredible opportunities’ as well as risks as he hails safety deal with tech giants - live
From 1h ago 13.29 EDT Biden: AI brings 'incredible opportunities' as well as risks The Biden administration has secured voluntary commitments on “responsible innovation” from the seven US companies that are driving innovation in artificial intelligence, Joe Biden says. He says AI brings “incredible opportunities” as well as risks to society and economy. Biden says he met with leaders of the US companies two months “to underscore their responsibility” and to make sure their products are safe. Since then, Biden says he has met with some of America’s top minds and technology to hear the range of perspectives and possibilities and risks of AI.
Updated at 13.43 EDT
4m ago 14.34 EDT Jack Schlossberg and Robert F Kennedy Jr are cousins, once removed. Schlossberg’s mother is Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former president John F Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Schlossberg is the latest member of the Kennedy clan to denounce Robert F Kennedy Jr’s presidential run. Earlier this week, his sister Kerry Kennedy publicly spoke out to say that she “strongly” condemned his remarks on Covid-19 and ethnic targeting. Rory Kennedy, also Kennedy’s sister, also took a stand against her brother in an email to the Guardian. She said: My feelings about my brother Bobby’s recent statement regarding Covid and ethnic targeting are very much aligned with my brother Joe, sister Kerry, and nephew Joe III – all of whom I admire for speaking out against him. There is a great deal of hate in the world and remarks like Bobby’s only serve to fuel that hate. Such conspiracy mongering not only creates more divisiveness, it actually puts people’s lives in danger. Their rebukes were echoed by the Democratic former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy III, nephew of Robert F Kennedy Jr, who wrote in a tweet: My uncle’s comments were hurtful and wrong. I unequivocally condemn what he said.
17m ago 14.20 EDT Grandson of JFK calls Robert F Kennedy Jr's presidential bid an 'embarrassment' The grandson of former president John F Kennedy ridiculed Robert F Kennedy’s 2024 White House bid, joining other members of the Kennedy family in condemning the Democratic presidential hopeful’s false remarks that Covid-19 was engineered to target some ethnic groups and spare others. In a video posted to his Instagram, Jack Schlossberg endorsed Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, saying he was on the way to becoming “the greatest progressive president we’ve ever had” who “shares my grandfather’s vision for America”. He said: Under Biden, we’ve added 13m jobs, unemployment is at its lowest in 60 years. Biden passed the largest investment in infrastructure since the New Deal and the largest investment in green energy ever. He’s appointed more federal judges than any president since my grandfather. He ended our longest war. He ended the Covid pandemic, and he ended Donald Trump. These are the issues that matter. And if my cousin, Bobby Kennedy Jr, cared about any of them, he would support Joe Biden too. Schlossberg, 30, went on to accuse his second cousin of “trading in on Camelot, celebrity conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame”. I’ve listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is his candidacy is an embarrassment. Let’s not be distracted again by somebody’s vanity project. I’m excited to vote for Joe Biden in my state’s primary, and again in the general election. And I hope you will too.
Updated at 14.21 EDT
36m ago 14.01 EDT The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has said he will introduce legislation to regulate AI. Schumer has held a number of briefings with government officials to educate senators about an issue that’s attracted bipartisan interest. A number of technology executives have called for regulation, and several went to the White House in May to speak with Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and other officials. But some experts and upstart competitors worry that the type of regulation being floated could be a boon for deep-pocketed first-movers led by OpenAI, Google and Microsoft as smaller players are elbowed out by the high cost of making their AI systems known as large language models adhere to regulatory strictures. The software trade group BSA, which includes Microsoft as a member, said on Friday that it welcomed the Biden administration’s efforts to set rules for high-risk AI systems. The group said in a statement: Enterprise software companies look forward to working with the administration and Congress to enact legislation that addresses the risks associated with artificial intelligence and promote its benefits. Read the full story here. Top tech firms commit to AI safeguards amid fears over pace of change Read more
Updated at 14.12 EDT
44m ago 13.53 EDT Here’s a bit more the AI guidelines brokered by the Biden administration and announced by the White House this morning. The news comes as critics charge AI’s breakneck expansion threatens to allow real damage to occur before laws catch up. The voluntary commitments are not legally binding, but may create a stopgap while more comprehensive action is developed. A surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools that can write convincingly human-like text and churn out new images and other media has brought public fascination as well as concern about their ability to trick people and spread disinformation, among other dangers. The voluntary commitments are meant to be an immediate way of addressing risks ahead of a longer-term push to get Congress to pass laws regulating the technology.
Some advocates for AI regulations said Biden’s move is a start but more needs to be done to hold the companies and their products accountable. A statement from James Steyer, founder and CEO of the non-profit Common Sense Media. said: History would indicate that many tech companies do not actually walk the walk on a voluntary pledge to act responsibly and support strong regulations.
54m ago 13.43 EDT These commitments by top players in AI development are “real and concrete” and will help “develop safe, secure and trustworthy” technologies that benefit society and uphold values, Biden says. AI will “transform the lives of people around the world”, Biden says, adding that it is “astounding” how quickly technology will change. The group of seven US companies “will be critical in shepherding that innovation with responsibility and safety by design to earn the trust of Americans”, he says. Americans are seeing how advanced artificial intelligence and the pace of innovation have the power to disrupt jobs in industries. These commitments are a promising step that we have a lot more work to do together. President Joe Biden speaks about artificial intelligence in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Updated at 13.44 EDT
1h ago 13.36 EDT Biden says he is pleased to announce that the seven US companies – Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI – have agreed to these voluntary commitments for responsible innovation. These “real and concrete” commitments underscore three fundamental principles – safety, security and trust, Biden says. First, companies have an obligation to make sure their technology is safe before they release it to the public. This means testing the capabilities of the systems, assessing their potential risks, and then making publicthe results of these assessments. Companies must also safeguard their models against cyber threats, and share best practices and industry standards. Biden says companies have a duty to empower users to make informed decisions labelling content that has been altered or AI generated, screening out bias and discrimination, strengthen privacy protections and shielding children from harm. Finally, these companies have agreed to find ways for AI “to help meet society’s greatest challenges, from cancer to climate change, and invest in education and new jobs”, he says.
Updated at 13.46 EDT
1h ago 13.29 EDT Biden: AI brings 'incredible opportunities' as well as risks The Biden administration has secured voluntary commitments on “responsible innovation” from the seven US companies that are driving innovation in artificial intelligence, Joe Biden says. He says AI brings “incredible opportunities” as well as risks to society and economy. Biden says he met with leaders of the US companies two months “to underscore their responsibility” and to make sure their products are safe. Since then, Biden says he has met with some of America’s top minds and technology to hear the range of perspectives and possibilities and risks of AI.
Updated at 13.43 EDT
1h ago 13.17 EDT Biden to deliver speech on AI after tech giants sign up to attempt to control dangers of new technology Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks at 1.30pm EST on artificial intelligence. The president’s speech comes after the White House announced on Friday morning that the administration has secured voluntary commitments from top players in the development of artificial intelligence to ensure their AI products are safe before they release them. Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI will announce new safeguards for the fast-moving technology, brokered by the Biden administration. Among the guidelines are watermarks for AI content to make it easier to identify and third-party testing of the technology that will try to spot dangerous flaws. We will be following Biden’s speech live on the blog.
Updated at 13.35 EDT
2h ago 12.31 EDT Michael Cohen has told Reuters that his lawsuit with Trump Organization has been resolved. In a statement, Donald Trump’s former fixer said: This matter has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties.
2h ago 12.15 EDT NBC is also reporting that Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen is expected to settle his lawsuit with the Trump Organization, confirming a New York Times report. NBC News confirms: Michael Cohen is expected to settle with the Trump Organization in his fight for $1.3 million in legal fees. @NBCNews — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 21, 2023
2h ago 12.09 EDT A Donald Trump aide who was with the former president for much of the day on 6 January 2021 appeared before a federal grand jury investigating the 2020 election aftermath on Thursday. William Russell was a White House special assistant and the deputy director of presidential advance operations, who now works for Trump’s 2024 campaign. He has made prior appearances before the grand jury, according to the Washington Post. During his testimony on Thursday, Russell was asked multiple questions about interactions he had with Trump while he was still in office, according to CNN. The line of questioning reported led Russell to leave and seek counsel from his attorney, Stan Woodward, multiple times. The grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation met for more than six hours, CNN wrote.
Updated at 12.12 EDT
3h ago 11.47 EDT Former Trump aide Michael Cohen expected to settle lawsuit with Trump Organization – report Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who was set to go to trial next week against his former boss’s company in a dispute over legal fees, is expected to settle his lawsuit with the Trump Organization, according to a New York Times report. Cohen’s civil lawsuit, initially filed in 2019, accused the Trump Organization of failing to make good on a promise to pay legal costs resulting from his work, leaving him with $1.3m unpaid bills. Jury selection for the trial began earlier this week, and opening arguments were scheduled for Monday. The proposed settlement, which has not been finalized and the terms of which will be confidential, will probably become public at a court hearing on Friday morning, the Times said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Cohen served for years as Trump’s personal attorney and fixer, but split with the former president in 2018 after the FBI raided his home and office while investigating him for multiple crimes that led him to plead guilty to multiple charges that year. Separately, Cohen is expected to be a key witness against Trump in a Manhattan criminal trial over allegations the former president tried to cover up past extramarital affairs during his first White House campaign.
Updated at 12.01 EDT
3h ago 11.31 EDT As charges against Donald Trump mount, any distinction between the former president’s White House bid and his criminal defense is vanishing, according to a Washington Post report. The paper writes: Fighting those prosecutions is increasingly dominating his time, resources and messaging, making the centerpiece of his candidacy an appeal to stay out of prison. As he forges ahead, much of the Republican base appears to be cheering him at each turn. What is likely to come is a campaign like the country has never seen before: A candidate juggling multiple criminal indictments while slashing the Department of Justice and his opponents, shuttling between early primary states for rallies and courtrooms for hearings, and spending his supporters’ money on both millions of dollars’ worth of campaign ads and burgeoning legal bills. Just over half of the money he raised last quarter went to the Save America Pac, which has spent millions on lawyers representing Trump and allies in the multiple ongoing cases, the report says.
Updated at 11.32 EDT
3h ago 11.11 EDT Donald Trump’s rivals are upping the pressure on him to take part in next month’s GOP primary debate, although he is expected to be a no-show. Trump, who has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the Republican race, has signaled that he will not participate in the party’s first 2024 election primary debate, hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee on 23 August. “When you have a big lead, you don’t do it,” he said during an interview on Fox News Sunday, adding, “I haven’t really made up my mind.” Republican national committee chair, Ronna McDaniel, said earlier this week that Trump would be making “a mistake” if he opts out of the upcoming debate. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called on Trump to join the other candidates on the debate stage in an interview on Newsmax on Wednesday. “Nobody’s entitled to be nominated. You got to earn it,” DeSantis said. Vivek Ramaswamy, when asked in April about the potential for Trump to sit out the debate, told NBC: “I’m not going to let him get away with that.” David Hopkins, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, told the Hill: Without Trump on the stage then it underscores the extent to which the rest of the candidates are in some sense in competition with each other to become the main alternative to Trump. Trump’s rivals also want the former president to take part in the debate because it “juices interest and ratings” and they are hoping to attract some attention to themselves, he added.
Source: The Guardian US
