Joe Biden's Top Aide Elizabeth Kelly Takes Helm At Newly Established AI Safety Institute

In the latest development from the President Joe Biden administration, Elizabeth Kelly, a key White House aide, has been appointed director of the recently founded AI Safety Institute.

What Happened: The administration announced Kelly’s appointment on Wednesday, as reported by AP News. The AI Safety Institute is part of the National Institute for Standards and Technology, under the Commerce Department. Kelly, an economic policy advisor to President Biden, played a significant role in the executive order that led to the establishment of the Institute, according to a statement from the Commerce Department.

Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, lauded Kelly’s contributions to the president’s tech and financial regulation agenda and her skill in building broad coalitions of stakeholders.

The AI Safety Institute is set to play a key role in the advancement of technology. By July, it plans to introduce “red team” testing standards for leading AI developers to ensure the safety and reliability of their systems. While the federal government has recently started requiring AI companies to test their systems, a universal set of standards is yet to be developed, a void the Institute aims to fill by this summer.

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A graduate of Yale Law School, Kelly has held positions in the Obama White House and at the financial firm Capital One.

Why It Matters: The creation of the AI Safety Institute was announced by Vice President Kamala Harris at the UK AI Safety Summit, just days after President Biden signed the AI executive order. The Institute's primary objective is to protect the American public from potential threats posed by AI.

Big tech companies like Microsoft Corp, NVIDIA Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, among others, have pledged support to President Biden’s project to democratize access to AI research.

This appointment comes amid ongoing debates about the potential risks of AI, with prominent figures in the AI field advocating for a halt in AI development and the implementation of strict regulations to govern companies working on this technology.

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