William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Division A, Title II, Section 248 ("Pilot program on self-directed training in advanced technologies")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: NDAA provisions;U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2021-01-01

Risk subdomain coverage

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal to no coverage of AI risk domains. It is a workforce training program focused on education and skill development, not on AI risk mitigation or governance. No specific AI risks are addressed.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document governs only the National Security sector, as it applies exclusively to Department of Defense civilian employees and Armed Forces members. It establishes a workforce training program for advanced technologies within the military and defense establishment.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute enacted by the U.S. Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. It uses mandatory language ('shall') throughout and creates legally enforceable obligations on the Secretary of Defense.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is Section 248 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which is enacted by the U.S. Congress. Congress is the legislative body that proposed and enacted this statute.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_User
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense; civilian employees of the Department of Defense; members of the Armed Forces
• Summary: The statute targets the Secretary of Defense who must implement the program, and the civilian employees and military members who are the intended beneficiaries and participants in the voluntary training program.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense; United States Congress
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense is responsible for implementing and enforcing the requirements of this statute within the Department. Congress maintains oversight authority over NDAA implementation.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense is required to develop metrics to evaluate the program's effectiveness and implement a system to document course completion, indicating monitoring responsibilities.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

No lifecycle stages identified.

AI Lifecycle Summary

This document does not govern the AI lifecycle stages of development, deployment, or operation of AI systems. Instead, it establishes a workforce training program to educate Department of Defense personnel about advanced technologies including AI. The focus is on human capital development, not AI system governance.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document mentions artificial intelligence as one of several advanced technologies that may be covered in training courses, but does not define or regulate AI models, systems, or any specific AI technical categories. The focus is on workforce education, not AI governance.