In an effort to advance artificial intelligence (AI) standards for U.S. and economic and national security needs, the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standardsand Technology (NIST) requests feedback on its draft plan for federal government engagement in AI. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) encourages relevant stakeholders to submit comments by July 19, 2019.
The draft document, U.S. Leadership in AI: Plan for Federal Engagement in Developing Technical Standards and Related Tools, is available on NIST's website. The document references both published standards and standards under development by the International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1, Information Technology, Subcommittee (SC) 42 on artificial intelligence, and outlines the current state of AI standardization.
It was published in response to the February 2019 Executive Order (EO) on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. ANSI recently submitted a coordinated response on behalf of its members to NIST's previous request for information seeking comment on the current state, plans, challenges, and opportunities related to AI technical standards, as well as priority areas for federal involvement in AI standards-related activities, pursuant to the EO.
Among its priorities, the Executive Order aims to "Ensure that technical standardsreflect Federal priorities for innovation, public trust, and public confidence in systems that use AI technologiesand develop international standards to promote and protect those priorities."
"AI is already transforming so many aspects of our lives and has the potential to do much more," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Walter G. Copan, in a NIST statement. "The federal government has an important role to play, in partnership with industry and academia, to ensure that the U.S. maintains its leadership in AI. We want to make the most of this technology, while ensuring safety, privacy and security."
Submit comments by July 19 to [email protected]. According to NIST, a final plan is due to the White House on August 10, 2019.
See related ANSI articles:
- ANSI Responds to NIST's Request for Information on Artificial Intelligence Standards
- From Innovation to Ethics, Standards Empower AI Progress in 2018