Decoding the AI Bill of Rights

A Strategic Guide for Business Leaders

Photo by Author — David E Sweenor

Do you know what happened in 1789? Well, this is when the United States’ first Congress proposed twelve changes to our fledgling constitution. Two years later, in 1791, ten were ratified. These original ten constitutional amendments became known as our Bill of Rights.[1] Fast forward to 2023, and we’re at another first. Just about every board of directors (BoD) at any company worth its salt is planning or has plans to implement generative artificial intelligence (AI). The technology is simply too transformative to ignore.

However, the question of AI regulation remains front-page news, with various members of Congress calling for action. In July 2023, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Meta, and others agreed to comply with a voluntary set of AI guidelines set forth by the Biden administration.[2] Do they agree to follow the guidelines for the public good or merely to protect their turf and help shape future legislation to align with their interests?

As I discussed in Regulating Generative AI, the draft European Union (EU) AI Act approaches AI governance through risk-based legislation for EU member states.[3] As multinationals embed AI across their core business processes, the question of regulatory compliance will undoubtedly be the topic of conversation in many board…