Harry Clark, Jeanine McGuinness, and Elizabeth Zane are Partners at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. This post is based on an Orrick memorandum by Mr. Clark, Ms. McGuinness, Ms. Zane, Gregory Hume, and Allison Bradham.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has proposed a rule that would establish reporting requirements to track development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models, in accordance with instructions in an October 2023 executive order.
The proposed rule is intended to bolster the government’s understanding of the capabilities and security of dual-use foundational AI models. BIS emphasizes that the U.S. government must be ready to take action to ensure the models are appropriately trained, can operate in a safe and reliable manner, and are not vulnerable to cyberattacks such that they are available to support the U.S. defense industrial base.
BIS is seeking comments on the proposed rule, with all comments due by October 11, 2024. BIS has expressed a particular interest in comments on the quarterly notification schedule, best practices for collecting and storing data submitted pursuant to the reporting requirements, and the technical thresholds that trigger the proposed reporting requirements.
The proposed regulation and underlying executive order demonstrate the seriousness of both (i) the U.S. government’s concerns about misuse of AI models in ways that would, in its view, undermine U.S. security, and (ii) the government’s belief that it is critical to have advanced AI models for use by the U.S. government.
