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The US Government Calls for Updates to Its National AI Policies

Against the backdrop of growing concerns about the skyrocketing increase in the use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, the US government is updating its national AI strategy and is asking the IT industry and the public for input on amending national AI policies.

Policymakers worldwide are hastening to craft strategies and enforce regulations that safeguard public safety while asserting national leadership in this transformative field. However, while many countries are developing policies to regulate AI, the US is a clear leader in AI, hosting most of the largest generative AI companies, and any policy document drawn up by the US is likely to have a substantial impact on the field.

On May 23rd, 2023, the White House released an update outlining the Biden-Harris administration’s latest initiatives in AI policy under the banner “Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes New Steps to Advance Responsible Artificial Intelligence Research, Development, and Deployment.”

A noteworthy addition to the updated National AI R&D Strategic Plan is an emphasis on a “principled and coordinated approach to international collaboration in AI research.” This shift aligns with President Biden’s broader international diplomacy strategy, representing a push to engage global discussion on data privacy, safety, and AI biases.

While there seems to be renewed emphasis on the “responsible and ethical” deployment of AI, overall, the strategies have not changed much from 2016 and 2019, with the latest 2023 update continuing to uphold the previously outlined strategies:

  • Creating effective methods for human-AI collaboration.
  • Addressing the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI.
  • Ensuring AI systems’ safety and security.
  • Developing shared public datasets and AI training and testing environments.
  • Establishing standards and benchmarks for AI system evaluation.
  • Understanding the national AI R&D workforce needs.
  • Expanding public-private partnerships to speed up AI advances.

The Biden-Harris administration aims to understand AI models, robotics, and hardware’s potential capabilities and constraints in areas like climate change, agriculture, energy, and healthcare. The plan encourages the development of general-purpose systems capable of functioning in real and simulated environments. On a positive note, the plan mentioned the word “healthcare” fifteen times and had several references to the use of AI in drug discovery and medicine.

The updated National AI R&D Strategic Plan, alongside these additional initiatives, signifies the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to responsible AI development. The emphasis on international cooperation, the refinement of existing strategies, and the active solicitation of public input illustrate a balanced, future-oriented approach to AI.

How BigRio Helps Bring Advanced AI Solutions to Improve All Industries

As a company dedicated to facilitating advancement in AI across many industries, and particularly in healthcare, BigRio supports the responsible use of AI and hopes that we can use our expertise in bringing AI responsibly to market to offer some input on the revised national AI strategy.

BigRio prides itself on being a facilitator and incubator for such advances in leveraging AI to improve the digital world.

In fact, we like to think of ourselves as a “Shark Tank for AI.”

If you are familiar with the TV series, then you know that, basically, what they do is hyper-accelerate the most important part of the incubation process – visibility. You can’t get better visibility than getting out in front of celebrity investors and a TV audience of millions of viewers. Many entrepreneurs who have appeared on that program – even those who did not get picked up by the Sharks – succeeded because others who were interested in their concepts saw them on the show.

At BigRio, we may not have a TV audience, but we can do the same. We have the expertise to not only weed out the companies that are not ready for the market, as the sharks on the TV show do, but also mentor and get those that we feel are readily noticed by the right people in the AI investment community.

You can read much more about how AI is redefining the Internet of Things in my new book Quantum Care: A Deep Dive into AI for Health Delivery and Research. While the book’s primary focus is on healthcare delivery, it also takes a deep dive into AI in general, with specific chapters on IoT and NLP technologies.

Rohit Mahajan is a Managing Partner with BigRio. He has particular expertise in the development and design of innovative solutions for clients in Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, Automotive, Manufacturing, and other industry segments.

BigRio is a technology consulting firm empowering data to drive innovation and advanced AI. We specialize in cutting-edge Big Data, Machine Learning, and Custom Software strategy, analysis, architecture, and implementation solutions. If you would like to benefit from our expertise in these areas or if you have further questions on the content of this article, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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How AI Can Help You Be More Productive at Home

We have written many times on these pages about how AI and machine learning are improving efficiency and productivity in the workplace. But how about at home? Did you know there are many ways that AI can help you be more productive and efficient at running your household as well?

For example, several homemakers recently told The Insider how they use generative AI technology to help them plan and prep meals for their families or dinner parties. Others reported how they are using ChatGPT to generate bedtime stories to read to their children. Some parents say they have used it to create entire “original” books for their kids with corresponding images, also using AI tools, like image generator DALL-E.

Other useful “at home” uses of generative AI tools reported included asking it for help generating emails or general inspiration for creating any type of content. Travel company Expedia has said it could be helpful for people planning trips to suggest tours and itineraries.

Of course, AI-powered personal assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are already being used extensively at home to help manage your daily tasks, set reminders, and provide answers to all sorts of questions. These assistants can also help you control smart home devices, such as thermostats and lights, making it easier to manage your home environment.

Other Uses for Home AI

AI-powered design tools can help you create graphics, logos, and other visual content for your personal use for invitations, events, etc. These tools can provide design suggestions, help with color selection, and even generate designs based on your specifications.

AI-powered entertainment tools can help you discover new music, movies, and TV shows based on your interests. These tools can help you stay engaged and entertained during your downtime, allowing you to recharge and stay productive when you need to.

We have already seen the introduction of “smart” robots of various shapes and sizes, such as the Roomba vacuum and the like, and these robotic assistants will no doubt get smarter and much more sophisticated as AI technology progresses.

Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), smart security and smart appliances are already making their way into homes and household kitchens. These new AI appliances are mainly being used to create food and drinks at certain times, such as coffee machines. Some AI Smart Fridges have the technology to tell whether or not food is safe to eat, as well as having the ability to suggest recipes depending on the food in the fridge. Robotic food arms are being used to assist with meal preparation and can help people with disabilities.

There is no doubt that AI is already easing the lifestyle and homebound tasks for everyone, and it will only get better at doing so.

How BigRio Helps Bring Advanced AI Solutions to All Areas of the Market

The idea that AI can help you be more productive at home and make your household run more efficiently is no news to us at BigRio. While we specialize in AI solutions for business and industry, we realize how much of that innovation often spills over into the home. We also support AI initiatives that relate to “smart home” technologies and the interconnectivity of the Internet of Things.

BigRio prides itself on being a facilitator and incubator for such advances in leveraging AI to improve the digital world.

In fact, we like to think of ourselves as a “Shark Tank for AI.”

If you are familiar with the TV series, then you know that, basically, what they do is hyper-accelerate the most important part of the incubation process – visibility. You can’t get better visibility than getting out in front of celebrity investors and a TV audience of millions of viewers. Many entrepreneurs who have appeared on that program – even those who did not get picked up by the Sharks – succeeded because others who were interested in their concepts saw them on the show.

At BigRio, we may not have a TV audience, but we can do the same. We have the expertise to not only weed out the companies that are not ready for the market, as the sharks on the TV show do, but also mentor and get those that we feel are readily noticed by the right people in the AI investment community.

You can read much more about how AI is redefining the Internet of Things in my new book Quantum Care: A Deep Dive into AI for Health Delivery and Research. While the book’s primary focus is on healthcare delivery, it also takes a deep dive into AI in general, with specific chapters on IoT and emerging “smart” technologies.

Rohit Mahajan is a Managing Partner with BigRio. He has particular expertise in the development and design of innovative solutions for clients in Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, Automotive, Manufacturing, and other industry segments.

BigRio is a technology consulting firm empowering data to drive innovation and advanced AI. We specialize in cutting-edge Big Data, Machine Learning, and Custom Software strategy, analysis, architecture, and implementation solutions. If you would like to benefit from our expertise in these areas or if you have further questions on the content of this article, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Could AI Robots Fix Recycling’s Biggest Problem?

Recycling is a worthy environmental effort; however, it has always had one big problem, getting a “purity” level of recycled materials that is high enough for them to be reused by manufacturers. The problem is the tedious process of sorting through recycled trash to get the choice of materials, which is now done almost entirely by hand. However, experimental robots driven by AI are offering a solution to what has been one of recycling’s biggest problems.

NBC News recently reported on the AI-robots that are being beta-tested at a materials recovery facility (MRF) in Boulder, CO.

Using machine learning, the sorting robots were able to acquire the ability to distinguish between different materials, accurately identifying pieces of plastic among sheets of paper and then efficiently separating them. This also increases accuracy and speeds while reducing manual labor requirements. By seamlessly integrating AI into recycling processes, this facility is paving the way for more efficient and effective recycling practices.

The automated sorting systems being used in Boulder are from AMP Robotics.

Similar sorting systems have been deployed in MRFs in Michigan that use AI-driven optical technology to provide real-time data about waste stream contaminants — such as too much peanut butter left in a jar — and other metrics that are just being explored. “It’s giving us this data so that we can make better decisions,” says Matt Flechter, recycling market development specialist at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, which is experimenting with these robotic sorters that are made by Machinex, Glacier an AI-startup that raised $4.5 million in seed funding last year to building a “proprietary AI algorithm that’s capable of recognizing over 90% of recyclables in the waste stream.”

Fletcher says leveraging AI will not only improve recycling on the back end through better sorting, but the data-driven models also will help manufacturers to create more recyclable packaging in the first place.

“The vision will be, we will have real-time data about products to bring to the manufacturer, so they can say, ‘Oh, we created a toothpaste tube that we thought was recyclable, but it turns out at the facilities the robots can’t pick it up,'” Fletcher told Axios.

Recycle Ann Arbor installed a sorting robot from Machinex called the SamurAI at its new MRF in November. The robot took three months to “learn” the shapes, sizes, and densities of the materials before it was put into operation.

How BigRio Helps Bring Advanced AI Solutions to Improve All Industries

The deployment of the Glacier and other proprietary “recycling robots.”

is yet another example of how innovative startups are advancing the ubiquity of AI and particularly how it is creating smarter and more capable industrial robots.

BigRio prides itself on being a facilitator and incubator for such advances in leveraging AI to improve the digital world.

In fact, we like to think of ourselves as a “Shark Tank for AI.”

If you are familiar with the TV series, then you know that, basically, what they do is hyper-accelerate the most important part of the incubation process – visibility. You can’t get better visibility than getting out in front of celebrity investors and a TV audience of millions of viewers. Many entrepreneurs who have appeared on that program – even those who did not get picked up by the Sharks – succeeded because others who were interested in their concepts saw them on the show.

At BigRio, we may not have a TV audience, but we can do the same. We have the expertise to not only weed out the companies that are not ready for the market, as the sharks on the TV show do, but also mentor and get those that we feel are readily noticed by the right people in the AI investment community.

You can read much more about how AI is redefining the industry in my new book Quantum Care: A Deep Dive into AI for Health Delivery and Research. While the book’s primary focus is on healthcare delivery, it also takes a deep dive into AI in general, with specific chapters on robotic technologies.

Rohit Mahajan is a Managing Partner with BigRio. He has particular expertise in the development and design of innovative solutions for clients in Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, Automotive, Manufacturing, and other industry segments.

BigRio is a technology consulting firm empowering data to drive innovation and advanced AI. We specialize in cutting-edge Big Data, Machine Learning, and Custom Software strategy, analysis, architecture, and implementation solutions. If you would like to benefit from our expertise in these areas or if you have further questions on the content of this article, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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