TORPEDO Act of 2023, Sec. 12 (Expedited release of advanced technologies to Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom through the foreign military sales program)

• 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.

• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Competitive dynamics
• Governance failure
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with only implicit references to competitive dynamics (6.4) and governance failure (6.5) through its expedited approval mechanisms. The primary focus is on military technology transfer procedures rather than AI-specific risks. Coverage is limited to 2-3 subdomains with minimal detail.

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 primarily governs the National Security sector by establishing procedures for expedited military technology sales to allied nations. It does not regulate AI use within civilian economic sectors, but rather focuses on government-to-government defense technology transfers.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act from the United States Congress with mandatory obligations on executive branch officials (Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense) to implement specific procedures and timelines.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is Section 12 of the TORPEDO Act of 2023, which is legislation enacted by the United States Congress, making Congress the proposer of this governance instrument.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of State; Secretary of Defense; National Disclosure Policy Committee; Arms Transfer and Technology Release Senior Steering Group
• Summary: The document places obligations on executive branch officials and coordinating entities to implement expedited procedures for military technology sales. These government actors are the targets who must comply with the new requirements.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: Congress retains enforcement authority through existing congressional notification requirements under the Arms Export Control Act and through its oversight of executive branch compliance with the mandated procedures and timelines.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress; Secretary of State; Secretary of Defense
• Summary: Congress monitors compliance through annual reporting requirements and notification procedures. The Secretaries of State and Defense also have monitoring responsibilities through their joint review and update of interagency policies.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Deploy

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document does not address specific AI lifecycle stages in detail. It focuses on the procedural aspects of releasing AI technologies through military sales rather than the development, validation, or deployment of AI systems themselves. The lifecycle coverage is minimal and indirect.

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 as one of several advanced technologies subject to expedited release procedures, but does not define AI or distinguish between different types of AI systems. There is no mention of compute thresholds, model types, or technical AI classifications.