William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Division A, Title XVII, Section 1751 ("Guidance and direction on use of direct hiring processes for artificial intelligence professionals and other data science and…

• 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

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal to no coverage of AI risk domains. It is a procedural directive focused on hiring processes for AI professionals within the Department of Defense, rather than addressing AI system risks, harms, or safety concerns. No risk subdomains are substantively covered.

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 hiring practices within the National Security sector, specifically the Department of Defense and military departments. It does not regulate AI use across economic sectors but rather addresses internal workforce acquisition for AI professionals within defense organizations.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding statutory provision enacted by the U.S. Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, containing mandatory obligations on the Secretary of Defense with specific deadlines and reporting requirements.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a section of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which is enacted by the United States Congress as the legislative authority.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; secretaries of the military departments; heads of the defense components; human resources professionals; hiring authorities
• Summary: The document explicitly directs the Secretary of Defense to issue guidance to military department secretaries and defense component heads regarding hiring processes. It also targets human resources professionals and hiring authorities who must implement the guidance.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives
• Summary: The Congressional Armed Services Committees serve as the enforcement mechanism through mandatory reporting requirements and oversight authority over the Secretary of Defense's compliance with the statutory directive.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives; Secretary of Defense
• Summary: The Congressional Armed Services Committees monitor implementation through the required report. The Secretary of Defense also monitors the effects of the guidance through assessment of hiring outcomes including hiring time, use of authorities, and quality of hires.

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

This document does not govern AI system development or deployment lifecycle stages. Instead, it addresses the human resources and hiring processes for recruiting AI professionals within the Department of Defense. It is procedural guidance about workforce acquisition, not AI system lifecycle governance.

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 mentions 'artificial intelligence professionals' as a job category but does not define or discuss AI models, AI systems, or any technical AI concepts. It is focused entirely on hiring processes for personnel with AI expertise, not on governing AI technology itself.