The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office banned the exploit of generative artificial intelligence for any purpose last year, citing security concerns about the technology as well as the propensity of some tools to exhibit “bias, unpredictability and malicious behavior,” according to an April 2023 study r. memo containing internal guidance obtained by WIRED through a public records request. Jamie Holcombe, USPTO’s chief information officer, wrote that the office is “committed to driving innovation across our agency” but is still “working to deliver these capabilities in a responsible manner.”
Paul Fucito, USPTO press secretary, explained to WIRED that employees can exploit “cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence models” at work, but only in the agency’s internal testing environment. “Innovators across the USPTO are now using the AI Lab to better understand the capabilities and limitations of generative AI and prototype AI-based solutions to address critical business needs,” Fucito wrote in an email.
Outside of the testing environment, USPTO employees are prohibited from relying on AI programs such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude for job tasks. Last year’s guidance note also prohibits the exploit of any tool output, including AI-generated images and videos. But Patent Office staff can exploit some approved AI programs, like these in the agency’s public database for searching registered patents and patent applications. Earlier this year, the USPTO approved Contract for $75 million with Accenture Federal Services to update its patent database with enhanced AI-powered search capabilities.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, an agency within the Department of Commerce, is responsible for protecting inventors, granting patents, and registering trademarks. According to the USPTO, “he also advises the President of the United States, the Secretary of Commerce, and U.S. government agencies on intellectual property (IP) policy, protection, and enforcement.” website.
Holcombe, author of the guidance note, said at a 2023 Google-sponsored event. government bureaucracy makes it complex for the public sector to exploit novel technologies. “Everything we do in government is pretty stupid compared to the commercial world, right?” he said. Holcombe specifically cited cumbersome budgeting, procurement and compliance processes, arguing that they make it complex for the government to quickly implement innovations such as artificial intelligence.
The USPTO is not the only government agency to ban employees from using generative AI, at least for some purposes. Earlier this year, the National Archives and Records Administration banned the use of ChatGPT on government-issued laptops, according to 404 Media. However, shortly thereafter, the National Archives organized an internal presentation entitled encouraged employees “think [Google’s] Gemini as a collaborator.” During the meeting, some archivists reportedly expressed concerns about the accuracy of generative AI. Next month, the National Archives plans to roll out a new public chatbot for access to archival records developed using Google technology.
Other U.S. government agencies are using or avoiding generative AI in various ways. The National Aeronautics and Space Administrationfor example, it has expressly banned the exploit of AI chatbots to process sensitive data. However, NASA decided to do so experiment with technology for writing code and summarizing research. Last week, the agency also announced that it is working with Microsoft on an AI chatbot that can do just that aggregate satellite data to make it basic to search. The tool is only available to NASA scientists and researchers, but its goal is to “democratize access to space data.”