Apple has joined the growing list of tech companies adhering to President Joe Biden's voluntary guidelines for responsible artificial intelligence (AI) development. The White House announced on Friday that Apple had signed the AI Safety Compact, bringing the total number of participating companies to 16.
The guidelines, first announced in July 2023, require companies to rigorously test AI systems for potential risks, including discriminatory bias, security vulnerabilities, and national security concerns. Companies are also required to transparently share the results of these tests with government agencies, private organizations, and academic institutions. Eight companies, including Google and OpenAI partner Microsoft, as well as Adobe, IBM, and Nvidia, have signed the guidelines.
“Apple is the latest company to agree to a set of voluntary safeguards on artificial intelligence developed by President Joe Biden's Administration to guide the development of emerging technologies and encourage companies to protect consumers,” the White House said in a statement.
The move comes at a pivotal time for Apple, as the company prepares to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot into its iPhone voice assistant as part of a new suite of AI features. The partnership has drawn scrutiny from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who expressed concerns about the security implications of integrating OpenAI's technology at the OS level. After Apple announced the partnership with OpenAI, Tesla CEO Elon Musk vowed to ban OpenAI's artificial intelligence software from his company's Apple devices if it was integrated at the OS level, which he called a security risk.
The voluntary guidelines are not legally binding, but they represent an effort by the Biden administration to promote responsible AI development in the absence of formal regulations. Congress has expressed interest in regulating AI, but progress on legislation has been slow.
President Biden called on industry leaders to prioritize safety and ethical considerations in their AI development efforts.
