Stanford’s Daniel Ho appointed to the Biden administration’s National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee
Daniel Ho, the William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), has been appointed by Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo to serve as a member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC).
The is tasked with advising the U.S. President and the National AI Initiative Office on a range of issues related to artificial intelligence. The committee consists of expert leaders from an interdisciplinary range of AI-relevant disciplines from across academia, industry, non-profit organizations, civil society, and federal laboratories. NAIAC members serve three-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms at the discretion of the secretary.
Ho, who is also Associate Director of the (HAI), has been at the forefront of examining public sector AI, bias and discrimination, and regulatory policy.
“Dan is a prominent scholar and one of the world’s foremost experts in the regulation of artificial intelligence,” said Jenny Martinez, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and dean of Stanford Law School. “An advisory position like this will provide our government with access to Dan’s deep knowledge of all things AI and his strong commitment to understanding the impact of this new technology on our society.”
Enacted by Congress in 2021, the NAIAC will provide recommendations on all aspects pertaining to national AI policy, including competitiveness, scientific progress, workforce implications, government operations, funding, societal impacts, international cooperation, oversight of AI systems, and enhancing opportunities for diverse geographic regions. Congress has directed the NAIAC to submit a report to the President and Congress after the first year, and then again every three years, that provides their findings and recommendations on the initiative.
“I am humbled and honored to serve on the NAIAC, along with such an esteemed group, to help our nation grapple with the critical questions, opportunities, and challenges that AI poses to our society,” said Ho. “Rapid advances in AI are poised to reshape many aspects of the world and we have a responsibility to think critically about policies, laws, and oversight to ensure that AI improves the quality of life for all.”
“I’m thrilled that Dan will have this great opportunity,” said Mark Duggan, the Trione Director of and the Wayne and Jodi Cooperman Professor of Economics. “This is also a perfect demonstration of how our faculty affiliates bridge the worlds of academia and policy. Having connections like this help improve policymaking, and they also help inform the research and scholarship happening at Stanford.”
Ho is also a professor of Political Science at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences; the director of the (RegLab) at Stanford; and a faculty fellow at the .
Among Ho’s extensive body of work, he co-authored a on the National Research Cloud, spelling out the considerations for creating a research resource of cloud computing and federal data, as well as a 122-page on the use of AI by federal government agencies for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), where he is a Public Member.
With the Stanford RegLab, his work has developed demonstration projects of AI and data science in partnership with a range of government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Labor, and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. Ho’s work has led, for instance, to policy insights on environmental compliance and health disparities amid COVID-19.
“It’s a great honor that Stanford HAI Associate Director Dan Ho will have the opportunity to advise the President of the United States on AI through the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee,” said Fei-Fei Li, Co-Director of HAI. “This prestigious appointment is a reflection of Dan’s deep expertise in AI and leadership in policy. The future of AI governance in the U.S. will be better off with Dan’s counsel.”
Before joining Stanford Law, Ho clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University.
A version of this story was by Stanford Law School.