Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The Biden administration's AI executive order was released one year ago, and we're here with a look at the latest milestones hit.
Why it matters: The sweeping executive order is a cornerstone of the Biden administration's tech policy work.
The latest deadlines were all met, according to a White House official, including:
- The Veterans Affairs Department hosted AI Tech Sprint competitions to create data tools to address specific Veteran health care issues.
- Attorney General Merrick Garland submitted a report to the president on AI in the criminal justice system and assessed the capacity to investigate how AI might lead law enforcement to deprive people of their rights.
- The Labor Department published guidance for contractors to avoid discrimination in hiring involving tech.
- Health and Human Services established a program to capture clinical errors resulting from AI in health care settings and developed a strategy for regulating AI in the drug development process.
What they're saying: "Federal agencies have completed on schedule each action that the Executive Order tasked for this past year—more than one hundred in all," the White House fact sheet states.
- "Over the past year, agencies have been hard at work drawing up guidelines, memos, and reports on what exactly it will look like to update our government for the AI era," Americans for Responsible Innovation President and former Obama administration official Brad Carson told Axios.
- "For whoever wins the presidential race, it won't make sense to throw those specs away and start from scratch."
Our thought bubble: Despite Republican threats to repeal the executive order, the majority of the document will already be implemented by the time the next administration comes in.
- The AI EO has been setting the pace of things for the last year, establishing norms at agencies that are set to continue.
What's next: There will be at least four new National AI Research Institutes by April 22, 2025, per the EO.
