NTIA Launches Public Inquiry on Open AI Models’ Risks and Benefits

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has started a public consultation on the pros and cons of an open ecosystem for artificial intelligence models. 

The NTIA will use the inquiry’s inputs for a report it is tasked to prepare and submit to the White House as mandated by President Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence. 

The nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology hosted on Wednesday a virtual event featuring an expert panel discussion with audience Q&A to kick off the consultation, the NTIA said.

Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and NTIA administrator, said during the public consultation’s launch that the inquiry “will seek policies that promote both safety and allow for broad access to AI tools.” 

The areas that the agency is examining to meet the executive order’s AI requirements include the regulatory mechanisms for managing the risks and benefits of open AI models and solutions. The NTIA plans to issue an official request for comment on open AI in early 2024. 

The CDT-hosted public inquiry follows the NTIA’s April request for comment from the commercial and academic sectors on how companies and regulators can ensure trustworthy AI tools.