Former President Barack Obama encouraged coders to join the Biden administration's artificial intelligence team.
Obama appeared on the Verge's podcast Decoder and responded to questions on technology and AI. The former president spent the last segment of the podcast recruiting on behalf of President Joe Biden, who has launched a government oversight initiative over AI.
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I recently went on the Decoder Podcast to talk about how the Biden-Harris Administration is working to take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the risks of artificial intelligence—and the ways the next generation of AI professionals can help shape the future. Listen now… pic.twitter.com/Jm8tHMUrdl
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 9, 2023
"I want to emphasize once again — because you’ve got an audience that understands this stuff, cares about it, is involved in it, and working at it: If you are interested in helping to shape all these amazing questions that are going to be coming up, go to ai.gov and see if there are opportunities for you," Obama said on Tuesday. "Fresh out of school, or you might be an experienced tech coder who’s done fine, bought the house, got everything set up, and says: 'You know what? I want to do something for the common good.' Sign up."
When he was president, Obama was involved in federal initiatives surrounding technology, including the establishment of the Digital Service. The program is meant to introduce technology and digital design into government services.
"It’s remarkable how many really high-level folks decided that for six months, for a year, or for two years, devoting themselves to questions that are bigger than just what the latest app or video game was turned out to be really important to them and meaningful to them," Obama said of those who have participated in Biden's national AI talent surge. "Attracting that kind of talent into this field with that perspective, I think, is going to be vital."
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There are job openings for Biden's "Innovation Fellows," who will, according to the website, be focused on goals to leverage AI in government, guide AI regulatory capacities, and strengthen the AI research and development ecosystem.
This comes less than two weeks after Biden signed an executive order calling for AI to become "safe and secure" amid what he referred to as its risks to national security.