Kupor: ‘Super Intelligence’ task force will press companies on AI safety

Por Katherine Long — POLITICO – TOP Stories

The “Super Intelligence” task force will work closely with the Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies to help hold artificial intelligence companies to safety expectations, Vice Chair Scott Kupor said in an exclusive interview.

The task force’s responsibilities will focus less on assessing frontier AI capabilities and more on establishing standards for developers based on existing criminal and civil laws, Kupor said.

“What you’re going to see is us making sure we’re coordinating across those various kinds of law enforcement organizations to make sure that we are abundantly clear with the industry what the rules of the road are and what we expect from them,” Kupor, who oversees the Office of Personnel Management, told POLITICO.

Kupor described law enforcement coordination as one part of the task force’s broader safety agenda. It will work to audit pledges made through the recent AI accords; conduct a full risk assessment of the technology; and ensure the government has the resources to respond if something goes wrong with a model.

The task force plans to work alongside the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, as outlined in the White House charter. But Kupor also pointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies with existing laws that can be used to govern AI developers.

The vice chair’s comments suggest a hands-on approach to AI oversight, even though the task force’s charter does not include a push for new legislation which is a priority for many AI safety advocates.

Kupor is one of four federal officials President Donald Trump has tasked with outlining how the government and tech industry should address AI threats. The group will operate for 120 days and produce a report on the risks AI poses, including potential threats to civil liberties and cybersecurity, standards for advanced models and the impacts of possible overregulation. The charter allows White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to extend the group’s work or transfer its functions to another agency.

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton is leading the task force in his new role as AI czar. Kupor, Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson are serving as vice chairs. The task force plans to hold its first official meeting this week, Kupor said.

Legal experts have warned that holding AI developers liable under existing laws, which Trump proposed when he first floated the creation of a government AI task force in September, is an uphill battle as product liability and anti-hacking laws weren’t crafted with AI models in mind.

“Give us our 120 days to at least make the case to you, to others and the American people that we’re not just saying the right things, but we actually have a set of actions that will drive that behavior,” Kupor said.

Kupor, while acknowledging broader concerns from lawmakers and the general public over AI’s catastrophic risks, sees the task force as a way of balancing those risks while promoting innovation in the sector to reap the benefits of the technology.

Policymakers on Capitol Hill have floated several bipartisan legislative proposals to address the risks posed by frontier AI models. And warnings from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who resigned with a blunt warning about AI’s existential threats, further fueled calls for congressional oversight.

“We feel very confident that we have a path forward here,” Kupor said, adding that the task force plans to coordinate communication between the government and industry to address potential risks.

The president has also taken issue with the term “artificial intelligence” itself, signing an executive order in September to formally rename AI to “superintelligence,” his preferred term for the technology. While the rebrand was seen as a response to public fears surrounding the technology, Kupor said the move was not intended to sway public perception of AI.

“We’re going to change perception at the end of the day by demonstrating to the American public that what we say is what we’re going to do, which is that yes, we believe that we should continue to win and lead in this area, but that also we can do it in a way that’s responsible from a security and an economy and a national sovereignty perspective,” Kupor said.

Kupor is no stranger to the tech world, having previously served as a managing partner at venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz. He also leads the White House’s U.S. Tech Force, a program aimed at recruiting young AI and tech experts to work across government agencies.

In an interview with POLITICO in February, Kupor said the agency plans to hire 1,000 workers in its first initial phase of the Tech Force. So far, roughly 380 new hires have been added, Kupor said, with another 150-200 in their current pipeline.

“I actually still feel very confident that that target is very achievable, and in fact, I think there’s a realistic chance that we will exceed that target just based on the demand now that I’m hearing,” Kupor said.

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories