Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, Section 1638 ("Sense of Congress with respect to use of artificial intelligence to support strategic deterrence")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: FY2025 NDAA;NDAA provisions
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2024-12-23

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of approximately 3-4 subdomains, with primary focus on AI system security (2.2), dangerous capabilities (7.2), and lack of robustness (7.3) in the specific context of nuclear weapons systems. Coverage is concentrated in security and AI safety domains as they relate to strategic deterrence.

Sector coverage

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

• National Security

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document exclusively governs AI use in the National Security sector, specifically addressing artificial intelligence applications in strategic deterrence, nuclear weapons systems, and command and control infrastructure.

Legislative Status

Soft Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a non-binding 'Sense of Congress' resolution and 'Statement of Policy' that expresses principles and intentions without creating enforceable legal obligations or penalties.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, which is proposed and enacted by the United States Congress.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer, AI_Deployer
• Entities: United States government entities involved in strategic deterrence and nuclear weapons systems
• Summary: The policy statement applies to entities using AI in nuclear safeguards, weapons systems, command communications, and nuclear weapons employment decisions, which would primarily be Department of Defense and Department of Energy entities.

Enforcer

• Summary: No enforcement body or mechanisms are specified in this non-binding sense of Congress resolution and policy statement.

Monitor

• Summary: No monitoring body or oversight mechanisms are specified in this non-binding sense of Congress resolution and policy statement.

AI Lifecycle Stages

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

• Plan and Design
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document addresses AI use across multiple lifecycle stages with primary focus on deployment and operational monitoring of AI systems in nuclear weapons contexts. It emphasizes design considerations, deployment safeguards, and ongoing operational integrity.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in the context of strategic deterrence and nuclear weapons systems. It does not specify particular AI model types, compute thresholds, or distinguish between general purpose and task-specific AI.