Kamala Harris

Former US Vice President who led the Biden administration’s AI portfolio and argued that AI safety must cover both existential threats to humanity and present harms to individuals, calling for regulation and strong government oversight.

Roles

8 Jan 2004 – 3 Jan 2011District Attorney, City and County of San FranciscoSource →
3 Jan 2011 – 3 Jan 2017Attorney General, State of CaliforniaSource →
3 Jan 2017 – 18 Jan 2021United States Senator for California, United States SenateSource →
20 Jan 2021 – 20 Jan 2025Vice President, United StatesLed the administration's AI work and was the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.Source →

On the record

28 Mar 2024 · Statement · The White House
When government agencies use AI tools, we will now require them to verify that those tools do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people.
Vice President, United States at the time
Announcing the first government-wide OMB policy on federal use of AI.
Press Call by Vice President Harris On Artificial Intelligence →
1 Nov 2023 · Speech · US Embassy, London
as history has shown, in the absence of regulation and strong government oversight, some technology companies choose to prioritize profit over the wellbeing of their customers, the safety of our communities, and the stability of our democracies.
Vice President, United States at the time
Same speech also defined AI safety as "the full spectrum of AI risk — threats to humanity as a whole, as well as threats to individuals".
Remarks by Vice President Harris on the Future of Artificial Intelligence →
1 Nov 2023 · Speech · US Embassy, London
From AI-enabled cyberattacks at a scale beyond anything we have seen before to AI-formulated bio-weapons that could endanger the lives of millions, these threats are often referred to as the "existential threats of AI" because, of course, they could endanger the very existence of humanity.
Vice President, United States at the time
Delivered the day before the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit.
Remarks by Vice President Harris on the Future of Artificial Intelligence →
4 May 2023 · Statement · The White House
the private sector has an ethical, moral, and legal responsibility to ensure the safety and security of their products
Vice President, United States at the time
After meeting the CEOs of Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI.
Statement from Vice President Harris After Meeting with CEOs on Advancing Responsible Artificial Intelligence Innovation →