Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks on Wednesday on AI in London, UK.
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00:00 It's good to see everyone.
00:05 Ambassador Hartley, thank you for the warm welcome that you gave us last night and today
00:10 and for inviting us to be here with you.
00:13 And thank you for your extraordinary leadership on behalf of the President and me and our
00:17 country.
00:18 And it is, of course, my honor to be with everyone here at the United States Embassy
00:22 in London, as well as to be with former Prime Minister Theresa May and all of the leaders
00:29 from the private sector, civil society, academia, and our many international partners.
00:37 So tomorrow I will participate in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Global Summit on AI Safety to
00:44 continue to advance global collaboration on safe and responsible use of AI.
00:52 Today I will speak more broadly about the vision and the principles that guide America's
00:59 work on AI.
01:02 President Biden and I believe that all leaders from government, civil society, and the private
01:09 sector have a moral, ethical, and societal duty to make sure that AI is adopted and advanced
01:19 in a way that protects the public from potential harm and that ensures that everyone is able
01:27 to enjoy its benefits.
01:30 AI has the potential to do profound good, to develop powerful new medicines, to treat
01:39 and even cure the diseases that have for generations plagued humanity, to dramatically improve agricultural
01:47 production, to help address global food insecurity, and to save countless lives in the fight against
01:56 the climate crisis.
01:58 But just as AI has the potential to do profound good, it also has the potential to cause profound
02:08 harm.
02:10 From AI-enabled cyberattacks at a scale beyond anything we've seen before to AI-formulated
02:18 bioweapons that could endanger the lives of millions of people, these threats are often
02:25 referred to as the existential threats of AI because, of course, they could endanger
02:32 the very existence of humanity.
02:36 These threats, without question, are profound, and they demand global action.
02:45 But let us be clear.
02:47 There are additional threats that also demand our action, threats that are currently causing
02:54 harm and which to many people also feel existential.
03:01 Consider, for example, when a senior is kicked off his health care plan because of a faulty
03:08 AI algorithm.
03:11 Is that not existential for him?
03:15 When a woman is threatened by an abusive partner with explicit, deepfake photographs, is that
03:23 not existential for her?
03:27 When a young father is wrongfully imprisoned because of biased AI facial recognition, is
03:36 that not existential for his family?
03:41 And when people around the world cannot discern fact from fiction because of a flood of AI-enabled
03:50 myths and disinformation, I ask, is that not existential for democracy?
04:01 Accordingly, to define AI safety, I offer that we must consider and address the full
04:13 spectrum of AI risk, threats to humanity as a whole, as well as threats to individuals,
04:23 communities, to our institutions, and to our most vulnerable populations.
04:31 We must manage all these dangers to make sure that AI is truly safe.
04:39 So many of you here know my mother was a scientist, and she worked at one of our nation's many
04:47 publicly funded research universities, which have long served as laboratories of invention,
04:55 creativity, and progress.
04:58 My mother had two goals in her life, to raise her two daughters and end breast cancer.
05:07 At a very early age then, I learned from her about the power of innovation to save lives,
05:16 to uplift communities, and move humanity forward.
05:22 I believe history will show that this was the moment when we had the opportunity to
05:31 lay the groundwork for the future of AI.
05:36 And the urgency of this moment must then compel us to create a collective vision of what this
05:43 future must be.
05:46 A future where AI is used to advance human rights and human dignity, where privacy is
05:52 protected and people have equal access to opportunity, where we make our democracies
05:59 stronger and our world safer.
06:04 A future where AI is used to advance the public interest.
06:12 And that is the future President Joe Biden and I are building.
06:17 Before generative AI captured global attention, President Biden and I convened leaders from
06:22 across our country, from computer scientists to civil rights activists to business leaders
06:29 and legal scholars, all to help make sure that the benefits of AI are shared equitably
06:38 and to address predictable threats, including deep fakes, data privacy violations, and algorithmic
06:45 discrimination.
06:48 And then we created the AI Bill of Rights.
06:54 Building on that, earlier this week, President Biden directed the United States Government
06:58 to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI, a directive that will have wide-ranging impact.
07:08 For example, our administration will establish a national safety reporting program on the
07:15 unsafe use of AI in hospitals and medical facilities.
07:20 Tech companies will create new tools to help consumers discern if audio and visual content
07:28 is AI-generated.
07:30 And AI developers will be required to submit the results of AI safety testing to the United
07:38 States Government for review.
07:41 In addition, I am proud to announce that President Biden and I have established the United States
07:48 AI Safety Institute, which will create rigorous standards to test the safety of AI models
07:56 for public use.
07:58 Today, we are also taking steps to establish requirements that when the United States Government
08:05 uses AI, it advances the public interest.
08:10 And we intend that these domestic AI policies will serve as a model for global policy.
08:20 Understanding that AI developed in one nation can impact the lives and livelihoods of billions
08:28 of people around the world.
08:30 Fundamentally, it is our belief that technology with global impact deserves global action.
08:40 And so, to provide order and stability in the midst of global technological change,
08:47 I firmly believe that we must be guided by a common set of understandings among nations.
08:55 And that is why the United States will continue to work with our allies and partners to apply
09:00 existing international rules and norms to AI and work to create new rules and norms.
09:11 To that end, earlier this year, the United States announced a set of principles for responsible
09:17 development, deployment, and use of military AI and autonomous capabilities.
09:24 It includes a rigorous legal review process for AI decision-making and a commitment that
09:31 AI systems always operate with international and within international humanitarian law.
09:41 Today I am also announcing that 30 countries have joined our commitment to the responsible
09:47 use of military AI, and I call on more nations to join.
09:54 In addition to all of this, the United States will continue to work with the G7, the United
10:00 Nations, and a diverse range of governments from the global north to the global south
10:07 to promote AI safety and equity around the world.
10:14 And let us agree, governments alone cannot address these challenges.
10:21 Civil society groups and the private sector also have an important role to play.
10:28 Civil society groups advocate for the public interest.
10:32 They hold the public and private sectors to account and are essential to the health and
10:39 stability of our democracies.
10:42 As with many other important issues, AI policy requires the leadership and partnership of
10:49 civil society.
10:51 And today, in response to my call, I am proud to announce that 10 top philanthropies have
10:58 committed to join us to protect workers' rights, advance transparency, prevent discrimination,
11:08 drive innovation in the public interest, and help build international rules and norms for
11:15 the responsible use of AI.
11:18 These organizations have already made an initial commitment of $200 million in furtherance
11:24 of these principles.
11:25 And so today I call on more civil society organizations to join us in this effort.
11:34 In addition to our work with civil society, President Biden and I will continue to engage
11:39 with the private companies who are building this technology.
11:42 Today, commercial interests are leading the way in the development and application of
11:49 large language models and making decisions about how these models are built, trained,
11:56 tested, and secured.
11:59 These decisions have the potential to impact all of society.
12:05 As such, President Biden and I have had extensive engagement with the leading AI companies to
12:11 establish a minimum, minimum baseline of responsible AI practices.
12:18 The result is a set of voluntary company commitments, which range from commitments to report vulnerabilities
12:26 discovered in AI models to keeping those models secure from bad actors.
12:33 Let me be clear.
12:35 These voluntary commitments are an initial step toward a safer AI future with more to
12:42 come.
12:44 Because as history has shown, in the absence of regulation and strong government oversight,
12:53 non-technology companies choose to prioritize profit over the well-being of their customers,
13:01 the safety of our communities, and the stability of our democracies.
13:07 An important way to address these challenges, in addition to the work we have already done,
13:13 is through legislation.
13:17 Legislation that strengthens AI safety without stifling innovation.
13:23 In a constitutional government like the United States, the executive branch and the legislative
13:29 branch should work together to pass laws that advance the public interest.
13:36 And we must do so swiftly as this technology rapidly advances.
13:43 President Biden and I are committed to working with our partners in Congress to codify future
13:49 meaningful AI and privacy protections.
13:53 And I will also note, even now, ahead of congressional action, there are many existing laws and regulations
14:01 that reflect our nation's longstanding commitment to the principles of privacy, transparency,
14:09 accountability, and consumer protection.
14:13 These laws and regulations are enforceable and currently apply to AI companies.
14:21 President Biden and I reject the false choice that suggests we can either protect the public
14:27 or advance innovation.
14:30 We can and we must do both.
14:35 The actions we take today will lay the groundwork for how AI will be used in the years to come.
14:43 So, I will end with this.
14:45 This is a moment of profound opportunity.
14:49 The benefits of AI are immense.
14:53 It could give us the power to fight the climate crisis, make medical and scientific breakthroughs,
15:01 explore our universe, and improve everyday life for people around the world.
15:09 So let us seize this moment.
15:11 Let us recognize this moment we are in.
15:15 As leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector, let us work together
15:23 to build a future where AI creates opportunity, advances equity, fundamental freedoms and
15:31 rights being protected.
15:34 Let us work together to fulfill our duty to make sure AI is in the service of the public
15:44 interest.
15:45 Thank you.