A Fair Artificial Intelligence Research & Regulation (FAIRR) Bureau
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our everyday reality, and it has the potential to save or to cost lives. Innovation is advancing at a breakneck pace, with technology developers engaging in de facto policy-setting through their decisions about the use of data and the embedded bias in their algorithms. Policymakers must keep up. Otherwise, by ceding decision-making authority to technology companies, we face the rising threat of becoming a technocracy. Given the potential benefits and threats of AI to US national security, economy, health, and beyond, a comprehensive and independent agency is needed to lead research, anticipate challenges posed by AI, and make policy recommendations in response. The Biden-Harris Administration should create the Fair Artificial Intelligence Research & Regulation (FAIRR) Bureau, which will bring together experts in technology, human behavior, and public policy from all sectors – public, private, nonprofit, and academic – to research and develop policies that enable the United States to leverage AI as a positive force for national security, economic growth, and equity. The FAIRR Bureau will adopt the interdisciplinary, evidence-based approach to AI regulation and policy needed to address this unprecedented challenge.
The Federation of American Scientists supports Congress’ ongoing bipartisan efforts to strengthen U.S. leadership with respect to outer space activities.
By preparing credible, bipartisan options now, before the bill becomes law, we can give the Administration a plan that is ready to implement rather than another study that gathers dust.
Even as companies and countries race to adopt AI, the U.S. lacks the capacity to fully characterize the behavior and risks of AI systems and ensure leadership across the AI stack. This gap has direct consequences for Commerce’s core missions.
As states take up AI regulation, they must prioritize transparency and build technical capacity to ensure effective governance and build public trust.