National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, Section 224 ("National Security and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institute")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: NDAA provisions;U.S. federal laws;FY2026 NDAA
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2025-12-18

Risk subdomain coverage

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

• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Competitive dynamics
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal to no coverage of specific AI risk domains. It is primarily a funding authorization for AI research institutes focused on national security, emphasizing research infrastructure, partnerships, and workforce development rather than addressing specific AI risks or harms.

Sector coverage

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

• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services
• National Security

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

• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs AI research and development in the National Security sector, with secondary coverage of Scientific Research and Development Services, and Educational Services. The institutes will conduct AI research for defense applications while involving academic institutions and the Defense Industrial Base.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a section of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is binding federal legislation enacted by the United States Congress. It contains mandatory authorization language and establishes legal authority for the Secretary of Defense to establish institutes and award financial assistance.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: This is a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which is proposed and enacted by the United States Congress as the legislative body with authority over defense policy and appropriations.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: eligible host institutions; institutions of higher education; community colleges; nonprofit research organizations; Federal laboratories; State, local, and Tribal governments; industry, including the Defense Industrial Base and startup companies
• Summary: The document targets eligible host institutions (primarily educational and research institutions) that will establish AI institutes, as well as the broader ecosystem of partners including government entities, industry, and the Defense Industrial Base that will participate in AI research and development for national security.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense is granted explicit authority to establish institutes, award financial assistance, set eligibility criteria, and enforce geographic restrictions. The Secretary has discretionary power over the competitive review process and collaboration with other federal agencies.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense; other departments and agencies of the Federal Government
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense has oversight authority over the institutes through the financial assistance mechanism, renewal process, and collaboration provisions. Other federal agencies may also participate in monitoring through collaborative arrangements.

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

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Plan and Design, Build and Use Model, and Verify and Validate stages through research infrastructure, testbed development, and pre-deployment evaluation. It also addresses Collect and Process Data through data management provisions.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions 'artificial intelligence systems' throughout and focuses on AI research, development, and testing infrastructure. It does not define specific AI types (frontier, general purpose, task-specific, etc.) or mention compute thresholds, focusing instead on broad AI capabilities for national security applications.