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One Rosslyn-based startup says it’s on a mission to help companies embrace artificial intelligence responsibly.
The company Trustible announced in mid-April that it had exited a quiet period of growth and initial fundraising “stealth” and had “oversubscribed” $1.6 million in “pre-seed” funding. Tech News Outlet Technical.ly DC first reported.
The money will be used to hire employees and improve government compliance solutions. These are intended to help companies demonstrate compliance with new government regulations, such as those slated for adoption by the United States and the European Union, according to a press release.
As this technology improves rapidly, businesses around the world are rushing to adopt and adapt to it. But Trustible founders Gerald Kierce and Andrew Gamino-Cheong are concerned that organizations may fail to comply with government regulations and unleash harmful applications of AI.
“AI is becoming a fundamental tool in our daily lives, from business applications to public services to consumer products,” they wrote in a blog post last month. “Recent advances in AI have dramatically accelerated the adoption of AI across society and are certainly changing the way humans interact with technology and basic services.”
But companies stepping up their use of AI are stepping into uncharted territory. The founders say these organizations need to answer tough questions like whether AI can be biased and who is to blame. They worry about abuses such as unfair prosecution, unequal medical care, and state surveillance.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” they say. “Despite good intentions, organizations deploying AI need enterprise tools and skills to build responsible AI practices at scale. I feel unprepared.”
Therefore, demonstrating trust in AI is key to successful AI adoption, Kierce and Gamino-Cheong said.
“Many of the challenges we have outlined require interdisciplinary solutions. They are socio-technical, political and humanitarian as well as technical and business problems.” said the blog post. “However, his solutions for technology to accelerate responsible AI priorities and expand governance programs have a critical role to play.”
That’s where Trustable comes in. It provides checklists, documentation tools, reporting capabilities, and all the details companies need to adopt AI while governments seek to regulate it.
In anticipation of compliance reviews and AI audits, the platform helps organizations define policies, implement and enforce ethical AI practices, and prove they are compliant with regulations.
Already, the US and Europe appear poised to adopt regulation, they say.
In the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a framework that the founders believe will inform pending federal regulation. Meanwhile, the White House has unveiled an “AI Bill of Rights,” which the founder says will serve as a blueprint for agencies seeking to formulate her AI policy inside.
The European Union is expected to adopt AI regulations that could become a blueprint for other countries. According to Kierce and Gamino-Cheong, 127 countries have already enacted legislation containing the term “artificial intelligence.”
“Any organization that develops or procures AI needs to understand how these rules differ from each other, what internal controls should be put in place, and how to prove compliance across jurisdictions. There is,” they wrote in a blog post.
Both Kierce and Gamino-Cheong are veterans of FiscalNote, a DC-based software, data, and media company. FiscalNote uses AI to deliver global policy and market intelligence.
“Both companies have applied AI to the policy landscape for nearly a decade and are now applying global policies to the AI space,” the press release said. “FiscalNote was recently named one of his OpenAI first plugin partners for ChatGPT.”
Trustible decided to incorporate as a Benefit Corporation like Patagonia. This means that they must meet higher regulatory standards to demonstrate that they benefit society.
