Ri;omg bu Executive Order and by AI

Ruling by Executive Order instead of going through the legislative branch

September 12, 2022 In a surprise executive order President Biden directed more federal resources to go toward establishing a competitive U.S. biomanufacturing sector to support independence in key input ingredients The Biden administration announced the launch of a new national program dedicated to fortifying America’s biotechnology manufacturing industry in the latest executive effort to keep U.S. supply chains competitive.  Introduced Sunday via executive order, the Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative focuses on a specific biomanufacturing process that uses microorganisms to create chemicals and compounds that contribute to make medicines, fuels and other input materials. The initiative is part of President Biden’s broader agenda to reduce U.S. dependence on overseas goods, particularly regarding China and its dominance in many manufacturing sectors.  “The global industry is on the cusp of a revolution powered by biotechnology,” a senior administration official told reporters on Sunday. “This allows the US to leverage innovation, this innovation, to strengthen our economy and society.” Chief among the initiative’s provisions is jumpstarting domestic manufacturing for bio-based materials. Administration officials confirmed that helping U.S.-based biotech companies source their manufacturing capabilities at home is the first step to strengthening the nation’s bioeconomy. In turn more domestic manufacturing is expected to lead to more resilient supply chains and affordable products. One example administration officials offered revolved around pharmaceuticals: if more of the key input ingredients were manufactured in the U.S., this can help reduce prescription and other medicine costs. Other pillars of the initiative will work toward advancing biomanufacturing research and development, expanding procurement options for bio-based goods in the new BioPreferred Program and revamping the U.S.’s infrastructure to support biomanufacturing business opportunities and investment.  This directive complements the recently passed CHIPS and Science Act which works to strengthen American production of semiconductors, also in an effort to reduce foreign dependence on critical technologies. “I think the United States really has the best biotechnology innovators in the world, we really do need in this area, but we risk falling behind as we did in the semiconductor sector and in the event telecommunications center unless we translate biotechnology innovation into economic and societal benefits for all Americans,” a senior administration official commented.  Ensuring U.S.-made biotechnologies and manufacturing processes are protected is also an important feature of the initiative. Biden administration officials confirmed that instilling cybersecurity measures to protect biological data and advancing standard development for the industry are also goals within national biomanufacturing. https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2022/09/biden-spurs-us-biotechnology-new-order/376995/ ……………… Oct. 4, 2022 By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press The Biden administration unveiled (by executive order!) a set of far-reaching goals Tuesday aimed at averting harms caused by the rise of artificial intelligence systems, including guidelines for how to protect people’s personal data and limit surveillance. The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights notably does not set out specific enforcement actions but instead is intended as a White House call to action for the U.S. government to safeguard digital and civil rights in an AI-fueled world, officials said. “This is the Biden-Harris administration really saying that we need to work together, not only just across government but across all sectors to really put equity at the center and civil rights at the center of the ways that we make and use and govern technologies,” said Alondra Nelson, deputy director for science and society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “We can and should expect better and demand better from our technologies.” The office said the white paper represents a major advance in the administration’s agenda to hold technology companies accountable, and highlighted various federal agencies’ commitments to weighing new rules and studying the specific impacts of AI technologies. The document emerged after a year-long consultation with more than two dozen different departments, and also incorporates feedback from civil society groups, technologists, industry researchers and tech companies including Palantir and Microsoft. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-10-04/white-house-unveils-artificial-intelligence-bill-of-rights ………… Executive Order on AI Trump Administration is committed to strengthening American leadership in artificial intelligence. Recognizing the strategic importance of AI to the Nation’s future economy and security, the Trump Administration established the American AI Initiative via Executive Order 13859 in February 2019. This initiative identified five key lines of effort, including increasing AI research investment, unleashing Federal AI computing and data resources, setting AI technical standards, building America’s AI workforce, and engaging with international allies. These lines of effort were codified into law as part of the National AI Initiative Act of 2020. In historic actions, the Administration committed to doubling AI research investment, established the first-ever national AI research institutes, issued a plan for AI technical standards, released the world’s first AI regulatory guidance, forged new international AI alliances, and established guidance for Federal use of AI. To oversee and implement the U.S. national AI strategy, the White House established the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office in early January 2021, in accordance with the National AI Initiative Act of 2020. This Office serves as the central hub for Federal coordination and collaboration in AI research and policymaking across the government, as well as with private sector, academia, and other stakeholders. Through these actions of the Trump Administration, together with the unparalleled enthusiasm and activity of the private sector and academia, the United States remains the world leader in artificial intelligence.  On February 11, 2019, President Trump signed the Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in AI. AI in Government In September 2019, The White House hosted the Summit on Artificial Intelligence in Government to spark ideas for how the Federal government can adopt AI to better achieve its mission and improve services to the American people. Over 175 leaders and experts from government, industry and academia came together to identify best practices in the use of AI, opportunities to foster collaborative partnerships and ways to develop a Federal AI workforce. The Summit highlighted innovative efforts at Federal agencies that have already adopted AI and looked ahead to future transformative AI applications that will make government more effective, efficient and responsive. An AI pilot project featured at this Summit by the Department of Health and Human Services led to a new effort announced by GSA to assist Federal agencies in using AI to conduct regulatory review and improve the rule-making process. Accelerating the adoption of AI in government, the General Service Administration (GSA) launched the AI Center of Excellence in September 2019 along with the AI Community of Practice soon thereafter. The AI Center of Excellence was later codified into law by the AI in Government Act of 2020. These efforts are supporting and coordinating the use of AI in the Federal agencies, helping to deploy scalable solutions and facilitating the sharing of best practices and tools for AI adoption. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/ai/executive-order-ai/ ………….. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy released a Blueprint for a “Bill of Rights” to help guide the design, development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and other automated systems so that they protect the rights of the American public. President Biden is standing up to special interests and has long said it is time to hold big technology companies accountable for the harms they cause and to ensure the American public is protected in an increasingly automated world. The framework builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to hold big technology accountable, protect the civil rights of Americans and ensure technology is working for the American people. Automated technologies are increasingly used to make everyday decisions affecting people’s rights, opportunities and access in everything from hiring and housing, to healthcare, education and financial services. While these technologies can drive great innovations, like enabling early cancer detection or helping farmers grow food more efficiently, studies have shown how AI can display opportunities unequally or embed bias and discrimination in decision-making processes. As a result automated systems can replicate or deepen inequalities already present in society against ordinary people, underscoring the need for greater transparency, accountability and privacy. The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights addresses these urgent challenges by laying out five core protections to which everyone in America should be entitled: Safe and Effective Systems: You should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems. Algorithmic Discrimination Protections: You should not face discrimination by algorithms and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way. Data Privacy: You should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and you should have agency over how data about you is used. Notice and Explanation: You should know that an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you. Alternative Options: You should be able to opt out where appropriate and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems you encounter. Developed through extensive consultation with the American public, stakeholders and U.S. government agencies, the Blueprint also includes concrete steps which governments, companies, communities and others can take in order to build these key protections into policy, practice or technological design to ensure automated systems work for the American people. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/10/04/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-key-actions-to-advance-tech-accountability-and-protect-the-rights-of-the-american-public/ Coast Guard documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation appear to show canned justifications commanders can cut and paste into vaccine exemption requests, experts told the DCNF. Existence of the statements suggests the Coast Guard may have violated requirements to consider the unique circumstances surrounding each request, experts said. “It is very easy for a commander to have a closed mind when there is a pre-written language presented to them in draft form,” Dwight Stirling, former military attorney and founder of the Center for Law and Military Policy, explained to the DCNF. The Coast Guard had pre-written justifications for denying COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Justifications in the document differ according to the position each Coast Guard member requesting an exemption occupied and where he or she was stationed, but each of the 30 listed follows a similar pattern of highlighting the operational requirements for each position and explaining why vaccination is necessary. The DCNF could not determine exactly how those in charge of deciding exemption cases applied each justification to individual requests, but the document indicates they failed to consider the unique circumstances of each applicant, a violation of Coast Guard policy and U.S. law, experts told the DCNF. “All the commander needs to do is sign the memo and the matter is finished,” Dwight Stirling, former military attorney and founder of the Center for Law and Military Policy, explained to the DCNF. (RELATED: Court Decides Air Force ‘Wrongly’ Dismisses Religious Exemption Requests From Unvaxxed Airmen) Coast Guard policy aimed at protecting First Amendment rights requires leaders to individually review each vaccine exemption request, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act says armed forces must demonstrate a “compelling interest” in overruling religious accommodations. Mike Rose, general counsel for Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, said he could not confirm whether the document was used to help the Coast Guard violate policy. However, he agreed that it appears to contain pre-written statements “designed to be applied automatically to each individual Coast Guardsmen based on the nature of their assignment.” “I also considered that you are assigned to an operational billet,” reads one of the justifications, directed at a cook aboard CGC Angela McShan. “Your duties as the senior Culinary Specialist requires frequent interactions with the entire crew in smaller, enclosed spaces that do not afford the opportunity to consistently social distance in accordance with the Center for Disease Control’s recommended guidelines.” The document contains a separate section labeled “COVID-19 and Other Requests” with responses to multiple religious exemptions related to the COVID-19 vaccine listed below. The first response addresses Coast Guard members’ request to be exempt from all future vaccines developed from mRNA or viral vector technology, which are used in the top COVID-19 vaccines. “The Coast Guard cannot predict which vaccines in the future will be mandated and of those which will be developed with mRNA or viral vector technology. Therefore, because of the broad nature of your request, it is denied,” the document reads, with “it is denied” in boldface type. The document also contains language for commanders denying religious exemptions to any COVID-19 vaccine: “I am the adjudication authority for religious accommodation requests pursuant to reference (d),” it reads. “I have carefully reviewed your request in accordance with references (d)-(f). Your request is denied,” it concludes, also with the final sentence in boldface. The document does not contain any language that would seem to approve an exemption request. Of 1,350 religious accommodation requests received since the mandate came into effect in August 2021, the Coast Guard approved 12, along with eight permanent medical exemptions, a Coast Guard spokesperson told the DCNF. “Giving commanders suggested reasons to consider that might justify denying an exemption from the vaccine in an individual case might not be wrong and could be justifiable legal advice,” Rose told the DCNF. “What would be wrong and impermissible would be to deny an exemption without regard to the individual circumstances and to use the pre- canned statements to justify those denials.” Military lawyers often cut and paste from memos or briefs, Stirling explained. “While we don’t know whether the Coast Guard commanders pre-judged the exemption cases before them, it would not be shocking to learn that they did so,” he said. “From my experience it is very easy for a commander to have a closed mind when there is a pre-written language presented to them in draft form.” House Oversight Committee Republicans confirmed the document’s authenticity, saying they had obtained a similar document but did not respond to further questioning about its contents. The document’s metadata says it was created in August 2022. @RepJamesComer, @Rep_Clyde & Oversight Republicans probe @USCG‘s failure to provide due process to members requesting religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine mandate. They denied nearly every applicant seeking an exemption. We need answers. https://t.co/3lbk9jVa6E — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) October 18, 2022 The Coast Guard fell under scrutiny after an investigation by members of the Oversight Republicans found that the Coast Guard used a computer-based tool, consisting of drop-down menus with pre-made answers for sections of the appeal response form, to issue mass denials of religious accommodations, Fox News first reported. However, lawmakers alleged that the Coast Guard deliberately stood up the exemption request review system “to reach pre-determined conclusions with the goal of rejecting applications” in a letter to Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan. “Every request received individualized review and analysis in accordance with law and Coast Guard policy,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told the DCNF. The Department of Defense (DOD) officially nullified the military vaccine mandate Tuesday; while the Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security, it has followed DOD guidance related to COVID-19. https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/12/coast-guard-document-vaccine-exemption-denial/