The White House steps in to cut AI risks

Welcome to Razorfish Radar, a newsletter about life on the internet brought to you from the pioneers of digital innovation for marketing change makers. Radar delivers the latest news on cultural trends, technology, and platforms—along with the expert insights to help you make sense of it all.

The White House “has to move fast—really fast”

The White House is aiming to reduce the risks that AI poses to consumers, workers, minority groups, and national security. In an executive order released yesterday, President Biden asked that any platforms developing AI models (defined broadly to include machine-learning algorithms and predictive analysis in addition to generative AI platforms on the backs of large language models) demonstrate greater transparency by sharing critical test information with the federal government before making the test results public if the AI being developed could have implications for national security, the economy, or public health.

There’s an emphasis throughout the executive order on equity and the human impact of AI, which is mirrored on AI.gov. Historically, Washington hasn’t been known for keeping up with the rapid pace of evolving technologies; in fact, Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, says the White House “has to move fast, really fast—ideally faster than the technology itself.”

 The new executive order is in line with previous executive directives, like a broad “bug bounty” announced in August for AI solutions to critical infrastructure flaws, and requests for companies to “voluntarily commit” to “not to use AI for evil.” (OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta, Anthropic, Amazon, Adobe, Nvidia, Salesforce, and many others are signatories.) Put more plainly, the order does not appear to contain a recognizable enforcement mechanism. 

Why it matters: The use of machine learning and Big Data to fuel predictive algorithms is not new, but generative AI is rapidly changing the popular understanding of what is possible—and what is at stake—through widescale AI adoption. Storylines that affirm how brands lead the way in safeguarding consumer privacy by keeping consumers’ data safe and secure—especially in any connected tech products and experiences—could create meaningful connections as these issues continue to influence the broader cultural consciousness around innovation.

In other news

The future of ads? In light of regulatory pressures, Meta has confirmed that European users will soon have the option to subscribe to an ad-free experience. Conversely, YouTube—which has had a premium subscription tier since 2014—is redoubling efforts to ensure free users do not use ad blockers, telling The Verge that ad blockers violate platform terms of service, and that “ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally.”

Contributors: Head of Social Content and Engagement Strategy Cristina Lawrence, Senior Vice President Jerry Lawrence, Group Vice President Andrew McKernan, and Senior Vice President Tammy Pepito.

At Razorfish, we help brands define their higher purpose—the emotional reason why they belong in people’s lives. Ready to find your purpose? Learn more here.