Page 6 - AIWS Report

In December 2017, Supervisor David Canepa drafted a resolution calling for ban on development and use of
autonomous weapons.

However, steps towards AI policy in the U.S. were first seen in the Obama administration. Since 2016,
President Obama’s White House published three globally influential reports, including “Preparing for the
Future of Artificial Intelligence,” “The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic
Plan,” and “Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy.” The first report made specific
recommendations related to AI regulations, public R&D, automation, ethics and fairness, and security. The
second report outlined a strategic plan for publicly funded R&D in AI. The final report examined in further
detail the impact of automation and what policies are needed to increase the benefits of AI and mitigate its
costs.
President Trump’s White House has taken a free market-oriented approach to AI. He was the first U.S.
president to specifically name AI as an Administration R&D priority in his 2019 Budget Request to Congress.
In the coming time, the government will focus on removing regulatory barriers to innovation so that American
companies have the flexibility to innovative and grow.
Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the President for Technology Policy, announced the U.S. Government
has four goals:

(1) maintain American leadership in AI;
(2) support the American worker;

(3) promote public R&D;
(4) remove barriers to innovation.

To achieve these objectives, a new Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence was established to advise the
White House on interagency AI R&D priorities and to consider the creation of Federal partnerships with
industry and academia. Another commission, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, will
also review ethical issues and national security risks associated with AI and machine learning technologies.
Meanwhile, in July 2018, the Pentagon announced a new Joint AI Center that will have oversight over the
majority of service and defense agency AI efforts.

2. Canada

The Canadian government launched the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy in its 2017 Budget with
the allocation of C$125 million to invest in AI research and talent in five years.
Being the first country to release a national AI strategy, Canada has four major goals in the AI strategy:

(1) increase the number of AI researchers and graduates;
(2) establish three clusters of scientific excellence;

(3) develop thought leadership on the economic, ethical, policy, and legal implications of AI;
(4) support the national research community on AI.

The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation
67 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02108 * +1 617 286 6589 * [email protected] * Dukakis.org