US President Joe Biden on Thursday gathered the CEOs of major artificial intelligence (AI) companies with the intention of making it clear to them that their products must ensure security before being in available to the public. The White House called on employers to reduce the “risks to security, human and civil rights, privacy, employment and democratic values” in AI.

The meeting, a two-hour meeting at the White House, was attended by, among others, Sundar Pichai (Google), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic), along with the Vice President Kamala Harris and prominent security and economic officials of the Administration. When it was over, the Government announced that all these companies would participate in a public assessment of their AI systems.

The White House reported that Biden, who has used ChatGPT to test it, told the presidents of these companies that it is imperative to mitigate both the current and potential risks that AI poses to people, society and national security According to the US executive, the meeting included “a frank and constructive debate” about the need for companies “to be more transparent with policymakers, the public and others about their AI systems”; the importance “of being able to assess, verify and validate the safety and effectiveness” of AIs, and the need to ensure that these systems “are safe from malicious actors and attacks”.

Kamala Harris pointed out in a statement that technology can improve people’s lives, but it can raise security, privacy and civil rights issues. He also warned employers that they have a “legal responsibility” to ensure the safety of their artificial intelligence products and that the Government is open to promoting new regulations and supporting new laws on artificial intelligence.

Sam Altman, whose company is responsible for ChatGPT, told reporters when he left the meeting that the companies came out, “surprisingly, on the same page about what needs to happen.”

The White House explained that it will invest $140 million from the National Science Foundation to launch seven new research institutes on AI and assured that the White House Office of Management and Budget will issue policy guidelines on the ‘use of AI by the federal government. Shortly after Biden announced his re-election bid, the Republican National Committee produced a video featuring a dystopian future during a second term for Biden, constructed entirely of AI-generated imagery.

In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in the use of AI. The US Government has also published an AI Bill of Rights and a Risk Management Framework.

Last week the Federal Trade Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice also said they would use their legal powers to fight AI-related harm.