WASHINGTON A U.S. agency will launch a public working group on generative artificial intelligence (AI) to help address the new technology's opportunities while developing guidance to confront its risks, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a nonregulatory agency that is part of the Commerce Department, said the working group will draw on technical expert volunteers from the private and public sectors.

"This new group is especially timely considering the unprecedented speed, scale and potential impact of generative AI and its potential to revolutionize many industries and society more broadly," NIST Director Laurie Locascio said.

Regulators globally have been scrambling to draw up rules governing the use of generative AI, which can create text and images, and whose impact has been compared to that of the internet.

President Joe Biden said this week he believes the risks of artificial intelligence to national security and the economy need to be addressed, and that he would seek expert advice.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan Oatis)