--- title: "Obama Has Secretly Been Working on AI for Biden" description: "It turns out that former President Barack Obama had a heavy hand in crafting current President Joe Biden's AI framework." date: "2023-11-03" modified: "2023-11-03" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/obama-ai-biden" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "barack obama" - "joe biden" - "the digest" --- # Obama Has Secretly Been Working on AI for Biden ![It turns out that former President Barack Obama had a heavy hand in crafting current President Joe Biden's AI framework.]() *PHOENIX, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 02: Former U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event for Arizona Democrats at Cesar Chavez High School on November 02, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. Obama campaigned for Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) \Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images\* ## Phone a Friend It turns out that former President Barack Obama had a heavy hand in crafting current President Joe Biden's AI agenda. On Monday, Biden announced a sweeping — [though resoundingly vague]() — executive order on AI, a much-anticipated document delineating the current administration's top AI concerns. And [as *NBC* reports](), he phoned one very famous friend to make that order happen: Obama, who according to the network is deeply concerned about the tech and its potential impacts. Per *NBC*, aides for both Biden and Obama say that AI keeps both the current and former president "up at night," and by Biden's reported request, the current president's one-time boss is said to have spent the last five months "quietly" meeting with White House officials, convening Zoom conferences with various top aides and speaking with leaders in the tech world. Obama "helped really set the frame of mind that companies can innovate while also being responsible," White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told *NBC*, "and that companies need to be accountable." ## Do Overs It's a notable contribution from Obama, considering his [complicated tech legacy](). The former president, who helmed the nation during the onset of social media and the digital world's Web2 transformation, embraced tech in his [presidential campaigns](), as well as during his [eight-year tenure in the Oval Office](). But while some laud him as a driver of innovation who appreciated tech as a means of expediting progress, he's also garnered wide criticism for his perceived failure to regulate Silicon Valley and the giants within it at a time when these companies weren't quite so powerful and regulation might have been more possible. Indeed, Obama touched on that regulatory failure [this week in a *Medium* post](), published after Biden's executive order was issued. "When social media was on the rise, most decisions were made by a small group of people with almost no oversight," reads the statement. "Those people created platforms that helped us connect in new and exciting ways, but they also failed to anticipate the harm their tools could do. By the time it became clear, much of the damage had already been done." "We can't make the same mistake again," the [noted Medium author]() added. "The stakes are too high." That's all fair. But again, it's important to remember that the Biden administration's order is mostly a promised framework for addressing AI and its implications, offering little in the way of firm regulation or timelines for the execution of its various promises. Like Zients told *NBC*, accountability is important — for AI companies, yes, but for the government, too. **More on Biden's AI order:** [*Joe Biden's Executive Order on AI Is Expansive, But Vague*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()