The introduction of the AI Foundation Model Transparency Act by representatives Anna Eshoo and Don Beyer marks a crucial step toward increased transparency in the use of artificial intelligence models. This legislative act aims to provide essential information to the public and regulatory bodies, proving to be a milestone in ensuring ethical and responsible AI utilization.
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the world, but with its disruptive potential, critical issues of transparency and justice arise. The "AI Foundation Model Transparency Act," presented by representatives Anna Eshoo and Don Beyer, stands as a beacon in the darkness of current AI models, offering a clear directive towards greater clarity in the functioning of these advanced models.
What Does This Law Entail?
This law defines "foundation models" as those artificial intelligence models:
- Trained on a broad spectrum of data.
- Generally use self-supervision.
- Contain at least 1,000,000,000 parameters.
- Applicable in a wide range of contexts.
- Exhibit or could be easily modified to exhibit a high level of performance in tasks that could pose a serious risk to national security, economic security, or the health and safety of the national public.
Why is Transparency Crucial?
These foundation models, powered by extensive data, guide AI responses in many crucial sectors such as healthcare, loans, housing approvals, and public safety. However, a lack of transparency can lead to inaccurate, imprecise, or biased responses, amplifying racial or gender biases with real and serious consequences.
What Does This Act Propose?
The law proposes that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with NIST and OSTP, establishes transparency standards for AI foundation models. These standards require model providers to publicly disclose information, including training data, training mechanisms, and user data collection during inferences.
Implications and Importance for the Future
This legislation is a crucial step towards elucidating AI models, helping users understand the reliability of models they use for specific applications and identify any limitations or biases. The risk of errors or discriminations caused by these models necessitates an urgent need for transparency and control.
What is AI Foundation Model Transparency Act
The "AI Foundation Model Transparency Act" is a proposed law introduced by representatives Anna Eshoo and Don Beyer, with the aim of introducing greater transparency in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) models, particularly those defined as "foundation models." The law aims to regulate access to information regarding the training, functioning, and usage of these AI models to ensure ethical and responsible adoption of AI.
Here are some key points of the proposal:
- Definition of Foundation Models: The law provides a specific definition of "foundation models." These are AI models trained on a broad spectrum of data, use self-supervision, contain a large number of parameters, and are applicable in a wide range of contexts.
- Mandatory Transparency: The proposal requires providers of foundation models to publicly disclose key information about the model. This includes details about training methods, training data used, and whether user data is collected during inference.
- Role of Regulatory Authorities: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Copyright Office, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), would be tasked with establishing transparency standards for foundation model providers. These standards should be published within nine months of the law's enactment.
- Protection for Small Providers and Researchers: The law includes measures to protect smaller providers and researchers while encouraging responsible transparency practices for high-impact foundation models.
- Focus on Consumer Awareness: The law aims to provide clear information to consumers, enabling them to understand how foundation models are trained, detect potential biases in results, and assess the risks of copyright violation.
- Addressing Current Issues: The proposal arises in response to growing concerns about the lack of transparency in the use of artificial intelligence models, which can lead to inaccurate, discriminatory, or harmful outcomes in various contexts, including healthcare, finance, housing, and public safety.
In summary, the AI Foundation Model Transparency Act aims to create guidelines and standards to ensure greater clarity in the use of fundamental artificial intelligence models, providing protections and accountability for all involved parties.
Conclusions
Transparency is key to the ethical and informed adoption of artificial intelligence. The AI Foundation Model Transparency Act marks a step forward in opening the 'black box' of AI algorithms, promoting a deeper and more aware understanding of their functioning.
Technical Glossary:
- Foundation Models: AI models trained on extensive data and used in various contexts.
- Self-supervision: The ability to learn without the need for external supervision.
- Parameters: Configurable elements in an AI model that influence its behavior.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): U.S. government agency that regulates trade and protects consumers.
- Foundation Models: Artificial intelligence models trained on extensive data, use self-supervision, contain a high number of parameters, and are applicable in various contexts.
- Self-supervision: The ability of an AI model to learn without the need for external supervision, implicitly creating training labels.
- Parameters: Configurable elements in an AI model that influence its behavior. In foundation models, these are often billions of parameters.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): U.S. government agency responsible for regulating trade and protecting consumers.
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): U.S. government agency that develops and promotes standards to enhance competitiveness and economic security.
- Copyright Office: Government organization overseeing copyright matters in the United States, protecting authors' rights.
- Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): U.S. government office providing scientific and technological advice to the president and other executive bodies.
- Transparency: Clear and understandable exposure of information regarding the functioning, training, and use of artificial intelligence models.
- Training of the Model: Process by which an artificial intelligence model learns from data, adjusting its parameters to improve performance.
- Inference: Phase in which the artificial intelligence model applies the knowledge gained during training to solve new problems or generate results.
- Copyright Violation: Action of using copyrighted works without the permission of the rights holder, an issue arising with the rise of generative artificial intelligence models.
- Racial or Gender Bias: Systematic deviation from expected results due to racial or gender biases present in training data.
- AI: Acronym: Artificial Intelligence. Definition: The field of computer science that develops systems capable of performing tasks that require human intelligence.
- FTC: Acronym: Federal Trade Commission. Definition: U.S. government agency responsible for regulating trade and protecting consumers.
- NIST: Acronym: National Institute of Standards and Technology. Definition: U.S. agency that develops and promotes standards to enhance competitiveness and economic security.
- OSTP: Acronym: Office of Science and Technology Policy. Definition: U.S. government office providing scientific and technological advice to the president and other executive bodies.
Sources and Data:
- The information and data provided are taken from the "AI Foundation Model Transparency Act" bill introduced to the United States Congress on December 22, 2023, by representatives Anna Eshoo and Don Beyer.
- https://beyer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/ai_foundatio...
- https://beyer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/one-pager_ai...
Key to the Future:
Transparency is a crucial pillar for the proper regulation and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. This legislative act represents a fundamental step toward a future where AI is used consciously, fairly, and responsibly.
