AMBITIOUS, SAFE, RESPONSIBLE: Our approach to the delivery of AI-enabled capability in Defence

• Authority: Government of the United Kingdom
• Jurisdiction: Other countries
• Collections: Miscellaneous documents
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2022-06-14

Risk subdomain coverage

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

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Overreliance and unsafe use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• Governance failure
• AI pursuing its own goals
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities
• Lack of capability or robustness
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

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

• Unequal performance across groups
• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Increased inequality and decline in employment
• Competitive dynamics
• Environmental harm

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has good coverage of approximately 10-12 subdomains, with strong focus on AI system safety failures (7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4), malicious actors (4.2), human-computer interaction (5.1, 5.2), governance (6.5), discrimination (1.1, 1.3), and security vulnerabilities (2.2). Coverage is concentrated in system safety, responsible use, and ethical deployment domains.

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 is an internal UK Ministry of Defence policy document that primarily governs AI use within the National Security sector. The policy applies to all Defence activities and operations, from back-office systems to battlefield applications, establishing ethical principles and governance frameworks for AI deployment across military contexts.

Legislative Status

Other

Legislative Status Summary

This is an internal government policy document establishing the UK Ministry of Defence's framework and ethical principles for AI deployment. While it references binding legal obligations and regulatory frameworks, the document itself is a policy statement providing guidance and principles rather than creating new legally enforceable obligations.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The document was developed by the UK Ministry of Defence in partnership with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, with input from an AI Ethics Advisory Panel comprising over 100 expert stakeholders consulted over 18 months.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Deployer, AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The policy applies to all Defence personnel, teams developing and deploying AI systems, organizational duty holders responsible for safety and ethics implementation, and extends to commercial suppliers and industry partners working with Defence.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Defence Safety Authority sets and enforces Defence Regulations, conducts horizon scanning and assurance activities. The 2nd PUS has oversight of AI policy and ethics, while TLB duty holders are responsible for safety enforcement in their organizations.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: Multiple bodies provide monitoring and oversight: DSA conducts horizon scanning and assurance, DAIB investigates accidents, the AI Ethics Advisory Panel provides scrutiny, and DSEC provides independent technical review.

AI Lifecycle Stages

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

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

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document explicitly covers all stages of the AI lifecycle, with particular emphasis on deployment and operational monitoring. It repeatedly references the need for considerations 'across the entire lifecycle' and 'from development, through deployment to decommissioning.' Strong coverage of design principles, verification/validation through testing and legal reviews, deployment with human oversight, and ongoing monitoring through safety frameworks.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Models
• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document extensively covers AI systems and AI-enabled systems throughout, with detailed discussion of weapons systems incorporating AI. It does not use specific terminology like 'frontier AI', 'general purpose AI', 'foundation models', or 'generative AI', nor does it reference compute thresholds or distinguish between open-weight and closed models. The focus is on AI systems broadly defined as technologies enabling machines to perform tasks requiring human intelligence.