Markey also celebrated the inclusion of key provisions on AI and biosecurity in the executive order

Washington (October 30, 2023) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) applauded the Biden administration for heeding their call to incorporate the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights into its artificial intelligence (AI) Executive Order, which the Administration released today. Earlier this month, the two lawmakers led their colleagues in a letter urging the Biden administration to ensure that the robust protections in the AI Bill of Rights were included in this AI executive order.

“We applaud the Biden administration for heeding our call to include key principles from the AI Bill of Rights in its new executive order on artificial intelligence. With the rise of AI posing a clear threat to our fundamental rights, we are glad that the Biden administration is implementing new safeguards as the federal government regulates, uses, and obtains AI systems. These protections will help us begin to address the serious risks posed by artificial intelligence, particularly to marginalized communities.

“This important order is a positive step in the right direction, and we will be watching closely to ensure its robust implementation. However, Congress and the Biden administration must act swiftly to lay down additional guardrails for AI across our economy – including protecting children and teens’ online privacy, addressing discriminatory algorithms, securing workers’ rights, and prohibiting facial recognition technologies. Together, with our colleagues, we’re committed to crafting legislation that sets the rules of the road for AI in the years ahead. Our fundamental rights are at stake, and we won't rest until they are secure in this era of artificial intelligence.”

In March, Senators Markey and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Congresswoman Jayapal, led their colleagues in reintroducing their Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act to prevent the government from using facial recognition and other biometric technologies, which pose significant privacy and civil liberties issues and disproportionately harm marginalized communities. Additionally, Senator Markey and Congresswoman Jayapal recently led six of their colleagues in a letter demanding answers from leading U.S. companies developing and deploying AI—Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Inflection AI, Scale AI, and IBM—on using underpaid and overworked data workers who receive no benefits but keep their companies’ AI products online. 

Senator Markey also applauded the Biden administration for incorporating key biosecurity provisions from his legislation into today’s executive order. In July, Senator Markey and Congresswoman Eshoo introduced the Securing Gene Synthesis Act and, with Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.), the Artificial Intelligence and Biosecurity Risk Assessment Act. As passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee through the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act, these bills would promote the screening of gene synthesis products and require the National Academies to report on the public health risks of artificial intelligence. The executive order draws from this legislation by directing the Secretary of Homeland Security and the National Academies to study the potential biosecurity risks posed by AI, as well as restricting government funding for artificial gene synthesis to providers that properly screen their products for potentially dangerous agents.

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