National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, Title XV, Subtitle C ("Cyberspace-Related Matters: Information Technology and Data Management")

• 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: 2023-12-22

Risk subdomain coverage

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

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Unequal performance across groups
• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• False or misleading information
• Competitive dynamics
• AI pursuing its own goals
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with limited focus on governance structures (6.5), security vulnerabilities (2.2), and competitive dynamics (6.4). Most coverage is implicit through establishment of oversight mechanisms rather than explicit discussion of risks and harms. The document primarily establishes governance structures without extensively addressing the specific risks those structures are meant to mitigate.

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.

• Information
• Professional & Technical Services
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs AI use within the National Security sector, specifically the Department of Defense and its military operations. It also has limited coverage of the Information sector through requirements for telecommunications infrastructure and digital content authentication.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute enacted by the United States Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, with mandatory language throughout requiring specific actions by the Secretary of Defense and establishing enforceable obligations.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a subtitle of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which is federal legislation enacted by the United States Congress.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer, AI_Deployer
• Entities: Department of Defense; Secretary of Defense; Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer; military departments; combatant commands; Defense Media Activity; Defense Logistics Agency; public wireless network service providers
• Summary: The document applies primarily to the Department of Defense and its components, requiring them to establish governance structures, implement AI policies, and manage data assets. It also applies to defense industry contractors and public wireless network service providers seeking access to military installations.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer; Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Governing Council; Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Transparency
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer are designated with authority to implement and oversee compliance with the requirements. The Governing Council provides policy oversight to ensure responsible and ethical employment of AI capabilities.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees; Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Governing Council
• Summary: Congressional committees receive periodic reports and briefings to monitor implementation. The Governing Council monitors AI program funding and provides periodic status updates on AI development and implementation efforts.

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 addresses multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Deploy and Operate and Monitor stages through establishment of governance oversight, data management requirements, and ongoing monitoring mechanisms. It also covers Plan and Design through policy development requirements and Build and Use Model through AI development oversight.

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 explicitly mentions AI systems, AI tools, and AI algorithms throughout. It references artificial intelligence technology and machine learning techniques. There is no mention of frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, or specific compute thresholds. The document does not distinguish between generative and predictive AI or address open-weight models.