National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, Section 1535 ("Artificial Intelligence Futures Steering Committee")

• 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

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

• Competitive dynamics
• Governance failure
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

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

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Overreliance and unsafe use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• AI pursuing its own goals
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal to good coverage of approximately 6-8 subdomains, with primary focus on competitive dynamics (6.4), governance structures (6.5), AI system safety and dangerous capabilities (7.1, 7.2, 7.3), and malicious actor risks (4.1, 4.2). Coverage is concentrated in national security, strategic competition, and AI safety domains relevant to military applications.

Sector coverage

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

• National Security

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

• Scientific Research & Development Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document exclusively governs AI use within the National Security sector, specifically the Department of Defense and its military operations. It establishes governance structures for advanced AI adoption, risk assessment, and policy development for military applications of artificial intelligence.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative provision enacted by the United States Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, establishing mandatory requirements for the Secretary of Defense with specific deadlines and reporting obligations.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which is enacted by the United States Congress as the legislative authority proposing this governance measure.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer, AI_Deployer
• Entities: Department of Defense; Secretary of Defense; Artificial Intelligence Futures Steering Committee; military departments; Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer; innovation centers within the defense innovation ecosystem
• Summary: The document targets the Department of Defense and its components, requiring them to establish a steering committee, develop AI policies, and assess AI capabilities. The DoD acts as both a governance actor (establishing policies) and an AI deployer (adopting and integrating AI systems into military operations).

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress; congressional defense committees
• Summary: Congress serves as the enforcer through its oversight authority, requiring mandatory reporting to congressional defense committees and establishing specific deadlines for compliance. The congressional defense committees receive reports and monitor implementation.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees; Deputy Secretary of Defense; Artificial Intelligence Futures Steering Committee
• Summary: The congressional defense committees monitor implementation through mandatory reporting requirements. The Steering Committee itself serves a monitoring function by analyzing AI trajectories, adversary developments, and operational effects. The Deputy Secretary oversees the committee's work and reports findings.

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 (policy formulation, strategy development), Verify and Validate (evaluation of AI systems), Deploy (adoption strategies), and Operate and Monitor (ongoing assessment, risk mitigation, oversight). It addresses the full lifecycle from planning through operational monitoring for advanced AI systems in military contexts.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Models
• Frontier AI
• AI Systems
• General Purpose AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document extensively covers AI systems and advanced artificial intelligence, with explicit focus on artificial general intelligence (AGI). It references frontier models, world models, and general purpose AI. There is no explicit mention of compute thresholds, open-weight models, or specific distinctions between generative and predictive AI.