Sec. 238. Joint artificial intelligence research, development, and transition activities
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The Secretary of Defense shall establish a set of activities within the Department of Defense to coordinate the efforts of the Department to develop, mature, and transition artificial intelligence technologies into operational use. The set of activities established under paragraph
(1)shall apply artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions to operational problems and coordinate activities involving artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence enabled capabilities within the Department. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall designate a senior official of the Department with principal responsibility for the coordination of activities relating to the development and demonstration of artificial intelligence and machine learning for the Department. The duties of the official designated under subsection
(b)shall include the following: Developing a detailed strategic plan to develop, mature, adopt, and transition artificial intelligence technologies into operational use. Such plan shall include the following: A strategic roadmap for the identification and coordination of the development and fielding of artificial intelligence technologies and key enabling capabilities. The continuous evaluation and adaptation of relevant artificial intelligence capabilities developed both inside the Department and in other organizations for military missions and business operations. To the degree practicable, the designated official shall— use the flexibility of regulations, personnel, acquisition, partnerships with industry and academia, or other relevant policies of the Department to accelerate the development and fielding of artificial intelligence capabilities; ensure engagement with defense and private industries, research universities, and unaffiliated, nonprofit research institutions; provide technical advice and support to entities in the Department and the military departments to optimize the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to meet Department missions; support the development of requirements for artificial intelligence capabilities that address the highest priority capability gaps of the Department and technical feasibility; develop and support capabilities for technical analysis and assessment of threat capabilities based on artificial intelligence; ensure that the Department has appropriate workforce and capabilities at laboratories, test ranges, and within the organic defense industrial base to support the artificial intelligence capabilities and requirements of the Department; develop classification guidance for all artificial intelligence related activities of the Department; work with appropriate officials to develop appropriate ethical, legal, and other policies for the Department governing the development and use of artificial intelligence enabled systems and technologies in operational situations; and ensure— that artificial intelligence programs of each military department and of the Defense Agencies are consistent with the priorities identified under this section; and appropriate coordination of artificial intelligence activities of the Department with interagency, industry, and international efforts relating to artificial intelligence, including relevant participation in standards setting bodies. Regularly convening appropriate officials across the Department— to integrate the functional activities of the organizations and elements of the Department with respect to artificial intelligence and machine learning; to ensure there are efficient and effective artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities throughout the Department; and to develop and continuously improve research, innovation, policy, joint processes, and procedures to facilitate the development, acquisition, integration, advancement, oversight, and sustainment of artificial intelligence and machine learning throughout the Department. The Secretary shall ensure that the official designated under subsection
(b)has access to such information on programs and activities of the military departments and other Defense Agencies as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out the coordination described in subsection
(b)and the duties set forth in subsection (c). Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the official designated under subsection
(b)shall— complete a study on past and current advances in artificial intelligence and the future of the discipline, including the methods and means necessary to advance the development of the discipline, to comprehensively address the national security needs and requirements of the Department; and submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the findings of the designated official with respect to the study completed under subparagraph (A). In conducting the study required by paragraph (1)(A), the designated official shall consult with experts within the Department, other Federal agencies, academia, any advisory committee established by the Secretary that the Secretary determines appropriate based on the duties of the advisory committee and the expertise of its members, and the commercial sector, as the Secretary considers appropriate. The study required by paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following: A comprehensive and national-level review of— advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies relevant to the needs of the Department and the Armed Forces; and the competitiveness of the Department in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and such technologies. Near-term actionable recommendations to the Secretary for the Department to secure and maintain technical advantage in artificial intelligence, including ways— to more effectively organize the Department for artificial intelligence; to educate, recruit, and retain leading talent; and to most effectively leverage investments in basic and advanced research and commercial progress in these technologies. Recommendations on the establishment of Departmentwide data standards and the provision of incentives for the sharing of open training data, including those relevant for research into systems that integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning with human teams. Recommendations for engagement by the Department with relevant agencies that will be involved with artificial intelligence in the future. Recommendations for legislative action relating to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies, including recommendations to more effectively fund and organize the Department. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall delineate a definition of the term artificial intelligence for use within the Department. In this section, the term artificial intelligence includes the following: Any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight, or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets. An artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other context that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action. An artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks. A set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task. An artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision making, and acting.