The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has issued a Request for Comments (RFC) on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) system accountability measures and policies to advance its efforts to ensure AI systems work as claimed and without causing harm. The RFC is targeting self-regulatory, regulatory, and other measures and policies to provide reliable evidence that AI systems are legal, effective, ethical, safe, and otherwise trustworthy. It is also seeking policies that can support the development of AI audits, assessments, certifications and other mechanisms to create earned trust in AI systems that they work as claimed (similar to how financial audits create trust in financial statements).

The NTIA has indicted that it will use these comments and other input to draft and issue a report on AI accountability policy development, focusing especially on the AI assurance ecosystem.

Among other things, the RFC seeks input on topics such as:

• What kinds of trust and safety testing should AI development companies and their enterprise clients conduct.

• What kinds of data access is necessary to conduct audits and assessments.

• How can regulators and other actors incentivize and support credible assurance of AI systems along with other forms of accountability.

• What different approaches might be needed in different industry sectors—like employment or health care. 

Written comments must be received on or before June 10, 2023.

This is just one of several initiatives underway by federal agencies to grapple with AI issues, in particular the meteoric rise of generative AI.

On March 16, 2023, the Copyright Office launched a new artificial intelligence initiative. As part of this initiative, it issued preliminary guidance on the works generated using AI tools. It also announced that it is conducting a series of listening sessions as follows.

• April 19, 2023 – Literary Works, Including Software Listening Session

• May 2, 2023 – Visual Arts Listening Session

• May 17, 2023 – Audiovisual Works Listening Session

• May 31, 2023 – Music and Sound Recordings Listening Session

The U.S. Patent Office also has undertaken an AI initiative. On February 14, 2023, the USPTO published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) requesting comments regarding AI and inventorship. It also announced an AI Inventorship Listening Session – East Coast for APR 25, 2023 in Alexandria, VA. This listening session is to seek stakeholder input on the current state of AI technologies and inventorship issues that may arise in view of the advancement of such technologies.