National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research and Development Act, Title II ("National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research Institutes")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

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
• Increased inequality and decline in employment
• Lack of capability or robustness
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with brief mentions of security (2.2), ethical implications (7.4), and workforce impacts (6.2). The primary focus is on establishing research institutes rather than addressing specific AI risks. Coverage is limited to 3-4 subdomains with scores of 2.

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

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

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Information
• Professional & Technical Services
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document governs AI use across multiple sectors through research institutes focused on unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility. Primary sectors include Agriculture, Manufacturing, Transportation and Utilities, Information (telecommunications), Public Administration, and National Security. The Act explicitly lists education, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, security, energy, environment, and public safety as focus areas.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a Congressional Act establishing a legally binding program with mandatory requirements for federal agencies, including specific authorization of appropriations and enforceable obligations.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: This is a Congressional Act (Title II of the National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research and Development Act), proposed and enacted by the United States Congress as indicated by the document title and authority.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Summary: The Act targets entities eligible to receive financial assistance to establish Institutes, including partnerships among public and private organizations, Federal agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit research organizations, Federal laboratories, State/local/Tribal governments, and industry.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Act designates specific federal agency heads with authority to establish the program, award financial assistance, conduct merit review, ensure non-duplication, and coordinate activities across the network of Institutes.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: NASA is designated to establish and coordinate a network of Institutes (Drone Leadership Network) to monitor and coordinate cross-cutting research activities. The competitive merit review process and coordination requirements establish ongoing monitoring mechanisms.

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
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Build and Use Model (AI/ML research for unmanned aircraft systems), Verify and Validate (testbeds and evaluation), and Operate and Monitor (data management, workforce development). It also addresses Plan and Design through research planning and Collect and Process Data through data management strategies.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Systems
• Task-specific AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI systems (unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility systems) and AI research (artificial intelligence and machine learning research). It does not specifically mention frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, or compute thresholds. The focus is on domain-specific AI applications in unmanned aircraft systems.