In October of last year, The Biden administration passed a sweeping executive order on artificial intelligence. The order signaled a new era of oversight for a technology that, since its initial public emergence in the fourth quarter of 2022, operated with minimal guardrails. The wide-ranging directive tasks federal agencies with crafting regulations and voluntary guidance to manage risks from advancing AI systems, the most prominent of which are offered by firms including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Though the executive order does not introduce new laws, instead directing federal agencies to employ existing statutory authorities, the President’s directive demonstrates that a laissez-faire approach to AI governance is over.
As 2024 begins, implementation timelines remain unclear. In any case, companies developing or utilizing AI for core functions and competencies and critical business verticals must prepare for expanding compliance requirements in the coming months and years. With bipartisan concern around AI and the influences of technological developments on elections and political developments alike, the executive order provides a potential framework for comprehensive legislation. In particular, an interest in consumer and employee protections against dangers like algorithmic bias are central to the White House effort. The order also decrees the promotion of ethical innovation in healthcare and the provision of resources for small businesses adopting AI. Moreover, consistent with efforts for near-shoring and preserving the United States’ status of technological superiority, the order also calls for streamlining visa processes to attract AI talent and building up educational initiatives to cultivate skills over a long-term time horizon. Notwithstanding government policies, the private sector proceeds unimpeded heading into the new year.
Following OpenAI’s widely reported leadership and governance episode in the final quarter of 2023, the firm looks forward to steady growth characterized by the return of institutional confidence consequent to the return of a stable, tested, and mature leadership structure. Microsoft continues to gain influence within the firm’s affairs, recently appointing an influential Microsoft executive as a Board Observer. In no uncertain terms, OpenAI’s turbulence last year demonstrated a market opportunity to current competitors and potential new entrants. 2024 will see the emergence of new peers and the rise of existing ones. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is funding a yet unreleased AI Google search engine competitor, and fellow mogul Elon Musk has already rolled out a platform termed “Grok,” boasting real-time access to the social media giant, X, and is actively developing another player in the space, the creatively named xAI. Meanwhile, rumors abound regarding the proverbial elephant in the room, Apple. As a dominant, outsized player in the mobile hardware space, as opposed to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and X, with direct access to the consumer’s most important digital instrument, Apple is strategically positioned to leverage large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) within existing technologies like Siri and the iPhone.
With the upcoming year promising further AI disruption and development in the private sector, the institution of diligent and astute planning and the implementation of robust contingencies remain imperative priorities for businesses in all sectors. In 2024, opting to ignore AI will not suffice. On the government side, though concrete legislative measures and rigorous enforcement remain elusive entering 2024, the Administration’s message is unambiguous — the AI regulatory era is on the horizon. Even still, with an important American election looming later this year, tides remain subject to change.