Artificial Intelligence Latest News & Update: White House Finally Breaks Its Silence Over Ongoing Debate On AI’s Risks And Benefits

Artificial intelligence has continued to make waves in almost all fields of sciences, increasing its influence on the world. But despite the possibility that the rise of artificial intelligence can eliminate human workforce, the promising ability of AI to change the way humans live caught the attention of the White House.

The Obama administration is interested in using more artificial intelligence as a meta-solution to the major problems in the United States. That's why, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has recently announced it would start studying AI's growing influence, as well as its benefits and risks.

"There is a lot of excitement about artificial intelligence (AI) and how to create computers capable of intelligent behavior," Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer Dr. Ed Felten said in a White House blog post. "Like any transformative technology, however, artificial intelligence carries some risk and presents complex policy challenges along several dimensions, from jobs and the economy to safety and regulatory questions."

Artificial Intelligence And The Federal Government

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said artificial intelligence could help a range of policy areas such as in medicine and education. Hence, the Obama administration created a subcommittee that will focus on AI and will look for ways to use the technology as Americans interact with the federal government.

The newly created subcommittee aims to collaborate with the private sector to help implement artificial intelligence in government activities including crime, urban development, the environment and welfare. According to Breitbart, the interagency will also conduct a series of public workshops to discuss the controversial aspects of artificial intelligence.

"The Federal Government also is working to leverage AI for public good and toward a more effective government," Felten explained. "There are tremendous opportunities and an array of considerations across the Federal Government in privacy, security, regulation, law, and research and development to be taken into account when effectively integrating this technology into both government and private-sector activities."

White House's Four Artificial Intelligence Public Workshops

In the coming months, the White House will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence through a series of public workshops. These White House-sanctioned AI programs will kick off on May 24 in Seattle with the topic titled, "Legal and Governance Implications of Artificial Intelligence," Fortune notes.

It will be followed by "Artificial Intelligence for Social Good" in Washington, D.C. on Jun. 7, "Safety and Control for Artificial Intelligence" in Pittsburgh on Jun. 28 and "The Social and Economic Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in the Near-Term" in New York City on Jul. 7.

As for the scheduled speakers of these artificial intelligence public workshops, the While House invited Microsoft principal researcher Kate Crawford and Google Open Research founder Meredith Whittaker. There will also be a group of researchers from University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, New York University, Johns Hopkins, the University of Southern California, and University of Washington.

Tickets to the four artificial intelligence public workshops are reportedly free and open to the public. Registration will begin "soon," Popular Science learns.

Artificial Intelligence To Revolutionize Cybersecurity

Aside from revolutionizing the fields of medicine, education and automotive technology, researchers, entrepreneurs and U.S. government officials are also investing more in advanced artificial intelligence to teach computers to protect themselves against hackers. In fact, security startups, government agencies, and some digital security firms in the U.S. have invested heavily in AI technology for cybersecurity within the past year, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

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