The White House will hold a meeting with nearly 40 major U.S. companies Thursday to discuss the future of artificial intelligence.
Executives from businesses such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel and IBM will join Trump administration officials in an attempt to balance technological advancements with their potential risks.
According to The Washington Post, a draft schedule for the event states the White House will also seek advice from AI developers, government and members of academia on “ways to adapt regulations to advance AI in such fields as agriculture, health care and transportation.”
“For the White House, the challenge is to strike a balance between the benefits of computers that can spot disease or drive cars and the reality that jobs – or lives – are at stake in the age of AI,” the Post reports.
Tech industry leaders will also likely request government funding in order to compete with companies in China, a leading country in AI.
Speaking with The Hill, Dean Garfield, the president of the Information Technology Industry Council, a D.C.-based advocacy organization, praised the meeting as “an important step to building collaboration between government and industry.”
“In order to maintain America’s leadership on A.I., the administration should continue to invest in research and development, and advance programs that equip the workforce with skills of the future,” Garfield said. “We look forward to sharing how we can help advance these priorities and others at the event.”
The meeting comes amid growing concern over AI’s role in society, specifically in terms of jobs and safety.
While industry leaders from Facebook and Google allege fears over AI are overblown, Tesla head Elon Musk has repeatedly warned of the technology’s danger.
In a letter to the United Nations (UN) last year, Musk and more than 100 other AI experts called for an outright ban on the development and use of autonomous weapon systems.
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