A leading US official on AI policy criticized Elon Musk over a strange flaw in Tesla cars. The car’s onboard screen claims that all nearby pedestrians are male.
Cathy Vidal, the Commerce Department’s Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and Commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, raised this issue during an on-stage discussion at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference on Wednesday.
Asked about Tesla’s billionaire CEO, Vidal said: “My relationship with Elon is more of a personal one.” Vidal drives a Tesla Model S Plaid, which she said she bought because she wanted an electric car.
“When I’m driving my car and see a voluptuous woman cross the street, Elon describes her as a tall white man,” Vidal said at an event in Laguna Niguel, Calif. . “In fact, the AI recognizes everyone as a tall white male,” she added. Mr. Vidal subsequently ordered a Tesla Roadster, but gave Mr. Musk a personal warning. “Elon, if you’re listening, I’m going to take my money out if you don’t change it,” she said.
Vidal, who worked as an engineer at Lockheed Martin and General Electric before entering law, was appointed to his current role by President Biden in 2021. She is focused on developing AI policies that create jobs, solve global problems, advance U.S. competitiveness, and advance U.S. competitiveness. National security. And on Wednesday, she asked anyone with ideas about how to regulate AI innovation to email her.
Vidal’s work with AI began in the early ’90s, when she was part of a team that developed a program that used internal data to detect failures in aircraft. This was before everyone was connected to the internet and had access to vast datasets, and we had to worry about issues like bias and privacy.
“Big data didn’t exist back then,” Vidal says.
With less than 20 days until the presidential election, Vidal emphasized the Biden and Harris administration’s efforts to create jobs and foster innovation. She specifically mentioned efforts to promote quantum computing technology hubs in Colorado and Chicago. These technology hubs, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, aim to increase the region’s ability to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy emerging technologies.
“We are creating Silicon Valleys everywhere,” she said.
