New U.S. Strategy on AI Safety
Global Scientific Network for AI Safety and New Canadian Regulations affect online streaming
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Key Public Policy Developments this Week:
Raimondo unveils strategic plan for the US AI Safety Institute
New Canadian regulations affecting online streaming for large tech companies
Recommended Reads: GenAI
What happened: US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo outlined a Stategic vision for the US AI Safety Institute (AISI). The focus of the AISI will be on:
1. Advance the science of AI safety;
2. Articulate, demonstrate, and disseminate the practices of AI safety; and
3. Support institutions, communities, and coordination around AI safety.
Raimondo also accounted the Commence and AISI will launch a global scientific network for AI safety by engaging with other AI Safety institutes, building on the AISA MoU with the UK AI Safety Institute and collaborations with Canada, Singapore and the EU AI Office. https://bit.ly/458icO0
Why this matters: The first AI Safety Institute started in the UK following the Bletchley AI Safety Summit, and at last count there are AI Safety Institutes (AISI) in a further three countries - the US, Canada and Japan, with Korea and France expected to establish an AISI later this year. The EU AI Safety Office is the European equivalent. Other government will almost certainly begin establishing AISI as it becomes clear that these are becoming central nodes for coordination and cooperation amongst countries on developing the science, standards and evaluation methods for assessing AI Safety. Th US AISIA strategic vision underscores just how important these AISI may become, with the US vision being that the work done in the AISI will be the foundation for building international cooperation on how to ensure AI Safety, thereby building trust in AI that will support wide-spread use of AI.
What happened: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has developed regulations under the 2022 Online Streaming Act 9 (Bill C-11). The CRTC will require online streaming services that make $25 million or more in annual contributions revenues and that are not affiliated with a Canadian broadcaster to contribute 5% of those revenues to certain funds used to support broadcasting of Canadian content. The Commission expects this condition to take effect in the 2024-2025 broadcast year, which begins on 1 September 2024, and that this will provide an estimated $200 million per year in new funding.
Why this matters: These regulations have been anticipated for some time as they were mandated as part of Bill C-11. These regulations are less sweeping than initially feared, applying only to subscription music and video sharing, and not to social media advertising. That said, there are real costs for US businesses in particular. The question now is how the Biden Administration reacts, and this is unclear. The internal US debate over USTR’s re-positioning itself on digital trade rules has muddied the waters when it comes to the extent it will enforce existing digital trade rules - and there may be a claim that the regulations are USMCA inconsistent. USMCA is also up for a Joint Review in July 2026, which will be another opportunity for the US to pressure Canada on this issue.
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