Last week the White House released a National Security Memorandum concerning AI governance and risk management. The NSM issues guidance to national security agencies regarding:

• Development of AI procurement and use;
• Protecting the security of AI infrastructure from foreign interference;
• Evaluating AI models that pose security and safety risks to the public; and
• Building AI talent and capacity within the US government. 

The memo also formally authorizes the AI Safety Institute at the U.S. Department of Commerce as the federal government’s primary port of contact for AI evaluations, and emphasizes the need for the National AI Research Resource to share AI development resources with academics, civil society, and communities across the US. 

Please see below for a statement from Future of Life Institute US Policy Specialist Hamza Chaudhry on the new NSM and its implications for safe AI development: 

“The National Security Memo released this week is a critical step toward acknowledging and addressing the risks inherent in unchecked AI development — especially in the areas of defense, national security, and weapons of war.

“This memo contains many commendable actions, efforts, and recommendations which, if implemented, will make the United States and the world safer from the threats and uncertainties of AI — including empowering the U.S. Department Commerce’s AI Safety Institute and increasing AI expertise across key government agencies and departments. 

“At the same time, we express caution against taking a purely competitive approach to AI development. Working actively with strategic competitors, in addition to close allies and partners, is critical to guarantee responsible AI development and advance US national security interests. Lack of cooperation will make it harder to cultivate a stable and responsible framework to advance international AI governance that fosters safe, secure, and trustworthy AI development and use.

“While the release of this memo represents progress in safeguarding AI deployment in national security and beyond, it represents just the start of the urgent action needed. It is vital that the government move from voluntary commitments toward compulsory requirements for safe AI. And it’s essential that the memo’s prescriptions and recommendations are turned into policy — no matter what the results of the upcoming election.”

For more information, please email press@futureoflife.org.