NSF, Air Force, and UK Supreme Court moves to note

But that wasn’t all.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released new guidelines for using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in its merit review process. The guidelines prohibit agency reviewers from using non-approved productive AI tools and encourage proposers to disclose if generative AI technology was used in their proposals. While NSF has approved the use of publicly accessible, commercial generative AI for public information, it has not approved the use of generative AI that interacts with proposal content. The agency is exploring how generative AI can be responsibly applied to its business processes and is developing a set of approved applications for generative AI. NSF aims to create an AI strategy to meet cross-agency guidance on the responsible use of AI.

The Air Force has implemented a new policy to set guardrails around commercial generative artificial intelligence testing and experimentation. The policy requires training for airmen and guardians, cautions against using government accounts for commercial AI platforms, and advises against putting non-public data into the GenAI tools. The Air Force aims to be AI-ready by 2025 and AI-competitive by 2027, with 44 AI projects underway. Taskforce Lima, led by the DoD Chief Digital and AI Office, is monitoring and guiding the implementation of AI technology.

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be recognized as a patent ‘inventor.’ The court unanimously rejected an appeal by a computer scientist who sought to register patents for inventions created by his AI system. The ruling establishes that an inventor must be a natural person under UK patent law. The decision raises questions about how the patent system should handle the creation of AI machines, and the government will review this area of law.

AI is going to be regulated with a combination of laws and of private policies.    It’s going to be a complicated space – and remember, we love those due to the opportunities there.    There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel here – leverage these frameworks for your own customers. 

Managed services providers should be aware of legal developments surrounding AI and patents to advise clients and navigate potential IP challenges. The UK and US seem to be following a similar path too, as so far the US patent office has said AI cannot be the inventor too.