William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Division A, Title VII, Section 808 ("Acquisition authority of the Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center")

• 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: 2021-01-01

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 risk domain coverage, primarily addressing governance structures (6.5) and competitive dynamics (6.4) through its focus on acquisition authority and rapid capability delivery. The document is procedural/administrative in nature, establishing organizational authority rather than addressing AI risks directly.

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, specifically establishing acquisition authority for the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center within the Department of Defense. It does not regulate AI use in civilian sectors.

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 2021, with mandatory obligations, specific funding allocations, enforcement mechanisms, and sunset provisions.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is Section 808 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, enacted by the United States Congress, which has constitutional authority to authorize defense programs and appropriate funds.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center; Joint Artificial Intelligence Center; Department of Defense elements
• Summary: The document applies to the Secretary of Defense who must delegate authority, the Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center who receives acquisition authority, and Department of Defense elements that will engage in AI capability development and acquisition activities.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; congressional defense committees
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense has primary enforcement authority through delegation and oversight responsibilities. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment has supervisory authority over acquisition matters. Congressional defense committees enforce through oversight, plan review, and demonstration requirements.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees; Secretary of Defense; Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
• Summary: Congressional defense committees monitor implementation through required plan submissions and capability demonstrations. The Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary monitor through oversight of the acquisition executive position and assessment of workforce needs.

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 primarily covers the Deploy and Operate and Monitor stages of the AI lifecycle, with some coverage of Build and Use Model through acquisition of AI technologies and capabilities. The focus is on transitioning AI capabilities into operational use and acquisition programs rather than early-stage development activities.

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 capabilities' and 'artificial intelligence' multiple times but does not define specific AI model types, system architectures, or technical thresholds. The focus is on AI capabilities broadly without distinguishing between frontier, general purpose, task-specific, or other AI categories.