James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Section 861 ("Strategy for increasing competitive opportunities for certain critical 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: 2022-12-23

Risk subdomain coverage

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

• Competitive dynamics
• Governance failure

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains. It primarily addresses competitive dynamics (6.4) through its focus on increasing competitive opportunities for critical technology development, including AI. There is implicit minimal coverage of governance structures (6.5) through the requirement for a comprehensive strategy and coordination processes. The document does not substantively address specific AI risks, harms, or safety concerns.

Sector coverage

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

• Professional & Technical Services
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• National Security

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

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Information

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs the National Security sector by directing the Department of Defense to develop strategies for integrating critical technologies including AI into major weapon systems. It also has significant coverage of Scientific Research and Development Services and Professional and Technical Services sectors through its focus on nontraditional defense contractors and technology development companies.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding statutory provision enacted by the United States Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, with mandatory language requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a comprehensive strategy.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is Section 861 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which is enacted by the United States Congress as the legislative authority.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; nontraditional defense contractors; prime contractors; military departments; Department of Defense
• Summary: The document targets the Secretary of Defense who must develop and submit the strategy, and applies to appropriate United States companies (nontraditional defense contractors and prime contractors) developing critical technologies including AI, as well as military departments and DoD elements that must coordinate implementation.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees; Secretary of Defense
• Summary: The congressional defense committees serve as the oversight body receiving the required strategy submission, while the Secretary of Defense has authority to implement and enforce the strategy across the Department of Defense.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees
• Summary: The congressional defense committees are designated to receive and review the comprehensive strategy, providing oversight and monitoring of implementation.

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 covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Plan and Design (strategy development for technology integration), Build and Use Model (development and prototyping of critical technologies including AI), and Deploy (transition into major weapon systems and programs of record). It also addresses Operate and Monitor through requirements for continuous experimentation and military utility assessments.

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 explicitly mentions artificial intelligence and machine learning as critical technologies but does not define them or specify particular types of AI systems, models, or technical thresholds. The focus is on AI as one of multiple critical technologies for defense applications.