President Joe Biden has issued an executive order governing AI development in an effort to address concerns.

Governments the world over are grappling with the challenges AI poses, from potential threats to humanity to civil rights abuses to inequality to copyright concerns. The plethora of issues are proving difficult to tackle without also throttling innovation.

In an effort to address those challenges, President Biden has issued a sweeping executive order that aims to ensure “safe,secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence.”

The order outlines more than two dozen guidelines designed to protect the safety and privacy of Americans; advance equality and civil rights; stand up for consumers, patients, and students; support and protect workers at risk of losing their jobs to AI; promote innovation; and advance US leadership in AI developments globally.

The executive order is one of the most comprehensive attempts yet to tackle the challenges surrounding AI development and will no doubt help shape American policy on the issue moving forward.

In a statement provided to WPN, Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, praised the administration’s effort:

“Consumers and workers deserve guardrails that will protect the public interest as AI continues to be developed and utilized in new contexts. Today’s executive order is a vital step by the Biden administration to begin the long process of regulating rapidly advancing AI technology – but it’s only a first step.

“The EO appears to be both sweeping and specific, covering the vast implications of AI for the government and society and directing agencies to pursue a long list of specific policies and principles.

“While we will need to review the details of the EO, we are particularly pleased to see: protection against algorithmic racism; requirements for AI-generated content to be properly labeled; affirmative duties on companies to test the safety of their products; a focus on the potentially catastrophic uses of AI; and an emphasis on ensuring AI does not entrench or create monopolies.”