National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, Section 251 ("Congressional notification of changes to Department of Defense policy on autonomy in weapon systems")

• 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.

• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Governance failure
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal coverage of risk domains, primarily addressing governance mechanisms (6.5) and implicitly touching on weapon development (4.2) and dangerous capabilities (7.2) through its focus on autonomous weapons systems policy. The document is procedural in nature, establishing notification requirements rather than directly addressing AI risks.

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 exclusively governs the National Security sector, establishing congressional notification requirements for modifications to Department of Defense policy on autonomy in weapon systems. No other economic sectors are regulated.

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 for Fiscal Year 2024, establishing mandatory notification requirements with clear legal obligations.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is Section 251 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which is enacted by the United States Congress as stated in the authority field.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense
• Summary: The document explicitly places obligations on the Secretary of Defense to provide briefings regarding modifications to DoD policy on autonomy in weapon systems.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees
• Summary: The congressional defense committees serve as the enforcement body by receiving mandatory briefings and exercising oversight over DoD compliance with the notification requirement.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees
• Summary: The congressional defense committees monitor compliance through the mandatory briefing mechanism, receiving descriptions and explanations of any modifications to the autonomy policy.

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

The document does not directly govern specific AI lifecycle stages but rather establishes a notification requirement for policy changes. It implicitly relates to all lifecycle stages through its oversight of DoD Directive 3000.09, which governs autonomy in weapon systems across their development and deployment.

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 references autonomy in weapon systems but does not explicitly define or discuss AI models, AI systems, or any specific technical AI categories. It is a procedural governance document focused on notification requirements rather than technical specifications.