[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1705 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1705
To establish a coordinated Federal initiative to accelerate the
research, development, procurement, fielding, and sustainment of
artificial intelligence for the economic and national security
interests of the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 19, 2021
Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a coordinated Federal initiative to accelerate the
research, development, procurement, fielding, and sustainment of
artificial intelligence for the economic and national security
interests of the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Artificial Intelligence Capabilities
and Transparency Act of 2021'' or the ``AICT Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) By enacting section 1051 of the John S. McCain National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-
232), Congress established the National Security Commission on
Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) to ``consider the methods and
means necessary to advance the development of artificial
intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies by
the United States to comprehensively address the national
security and defense needs of the United States''.
(2) The National Security Commission on Artificial
Intelligence was comprised of technology and policy experts
with combined expertise in their field.
(3) The National Security Commission on Artificial
Intelligence released its final report to Congress in March of
2021.
(4) This Act is primarily based on the consensus
recommendations of the National Security Commission on
Artificial Intelligence.
(5) The National Science Foundation (NSF) established the
National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes
program in 2020 to invest in long-term research into artificial
intelligence.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) artificial intelligence, machine learning, and
associated technologies will play a critical role in the
economic and national security interests of the United States
and its allies;
(2) two additional themes for Artificial Intelligence
Research Institutes should be established in the areas of
artificial intelligence safety and artificial intelligence
ethics; and
(3) the Director of the National Science Foundation should
stand up the thematic programs described in paragraph (2) as
soon as practicable.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' includes the following:
(A) 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.
(B) 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.
(C) An artificial system designed to think or act
like a human, including cognitive architectures and
neural networks.
(D) A set of techniques, including machine
learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive
task.
(E) An artificial system designed to act
rationally, including an intelligent software agent or
embodied robot that achieves goals using perception,
planning, reasoning, learning, communicating,
decisionmaking and acting.
(2) Artificial intelligence ethics.--The term ``artificial
intelligence ethics'' includes the quantitative analysis of
artificial intelligence systems to address matters relating to
the effects of such systems on individuals and society, such as
matters of fairness or the potential for discrimination.
(3) Artificial intelligence safety.--The term ``artificial
intelligence safety'' includes technical efforts to improve
artificial intelligence systems in order to reduce adverse and
unintentional effects of such systems.
(4) Congressional defense committees.--The term
``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.
(5) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence
community'' has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
(6) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' does not include a member of the Armed Forces or an
employee of the Department of Defense.
SEC. 4. DIGITAL TALENT RECRUITING OFFICERS.
(a) Digital Talent Recruiting for the Department of Defense.--
(1) Designation of chief digital recruiting officer.--Not
later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall designate a chief digital
recruiting officer within the office of the Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness to oversee a digital
recruiting office to carry out the responsibilities set forth
in paragraph (2).
(2) Responsibilities.--The chief digital recruiting officer
designated under paragraph (1) shall, in coordination with the
Director for the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC),
be responsible for--
(A) identifying needs of the Department of Defense
for specific types of digital talent;
(B) recruiting technologists, in partnership with
the military services and Department components,
including by attending conferences and career fairs,
and actively recruiting on university campuses and from
the private sector;
(C) integrating Federal scholarship for service
programs into Department civilian recruiting; and
(D) partnering with human resource teams in the
military services and Department components to use
direct-hire authorities to accelerate hiring.
(3) Staff and resources.--The Secretary of Defense shall
ensure that the chief digital recruiting officer designated
under paragraph (1) is provided with staff and resources
sufficient to maintain an office and to carry out the
responsibilities set forth in paragraph (2).
(b) Digital Talent Recruiting for the Intelligence Community.--
(1) Designation of chief digital recruiting officer.--Not
later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall designate a
chief digital recruiting officer to oversee a digital
recruiting office to carry out the responsibilities set forth
in paragraph (2).
(2) Responsibilities.--The chief digital recruiting officer
designated under paragraph (1) shall be responsible for--
(A) identifying needs of the intelligence community
for specific types of digital talent;
(B) recruiting technologists, in partnership with
components of the intelligence community, by attending
conferences and career fairs, and actively recruiting
on college campuses;
(C) integrating Federal scholarship for service
programs into intelligence community recruiting;
(D) offering recruitment and referral bonuses; and
(E) partnering with human resource teams in the
components of the intelligence community to use direct-
hire authorities to accelerate hiring.
(3) Staff and resources.--The Director of National
Intelligence shall ensure that the chief digital recruiting
officer designated under paragraph (1) is provided with staff
and resources sufficient to maintain an office and to carry out
the responsibilities set forth in paragraph (2).
(c) Digital Talent Recruiting for the Department of Energy.--
(1) Chief digital recruiting officer.--Not later than 270
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Energy shall designate a chief digital recruiting officer to
oversee a digital recruiting office to carry out the
responsibilities set forth in paragraph (2).
(2) Responsibilities.--The chief digital recruiting officer
designated under paragraph (1) shall be responsible for--
(A) identifying Department of Energy needs for
specific types of digital talent;
(B) recruiting technologists, in partnership with
Department programs, by attending conferences and
career fairs, and actively recruiting on college
campuses;
(C) integrating Federal scholarship for service
programs into civilian recruiting;
(D) offering recruitment and referral bonuses; and
(E) partnering with human resource teams in
Department programs to use direct-hire authorities to
accelerate hiring.
(3) Staff and resources.--The Secretary of Energy shall
ensure that the chief digital recruiting officer designated
under paragraph (1) is provided with staff and resources
sufficient to maintain an office and to carry out the
responsibilities set forth in paragraph (2).
SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PILOT PROGRAM ON ESTABLISHING AN
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT AND PROTOTYPING FUND.
(a) Establishment of Pilot Program and Artificial Intelligence
Development and Prototyping Fund.--
(1) Pilot program.--The Secretary of Defense shall
establish and carry out a pilot program to assess the
feasibility and advisability of establishing a fund for the
purpose set forth in subsection (b).
(2) Artificial intelligence development and prototyping
fund.--Under the pilot program, the Secretary shall establish a
fund to be known as the ``Artificial Intelligence Development
and Prototyping Fund'' (in this section referred to as the
``Fund'').
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot program and the Fund is to
support operational prototyping and speed the transition of artificial
intelligence-enabled applications into both service-specific and joint
mission capabilities with priority on joint mission capabilities for
Combatant Commanders.
(c) Management of the Fund.--The Fund shall be managed by the
Secretary, acting through the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, in
consultation with the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and
Engineering, the Joint Staff, and the military services.
(d) Use of Funds for Development or Prototyping.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the Joint
Artificial Intelligence Center, may transfer such amounts in
the Fund as the Secretary considers appropriate to a military
service for the purpose of carrying out a development or
prototyping program selected by the Secretary for the purpose
described in subsection (b).
(2) Treatment of transferred funds.--Any amount transferred
under paragraph (1) shall be credited to the account to which
it is transferred.
(3) Supplement, not supplant.--The transfer authority
provided in this subsection is in addition to any other
transfer authority available to the Secretary or the Under
Secretary.
(e) Congressional Notice.--
(1) Notice required.--The Secretary shall notify the
congressional defense committees of all transfers under
subsection (d).
(2) Contents.--Each notice under paragraph (1) shall
specify the amount transferred, the purpose of the transfer,
and the total projected cost and estimated cost to complete the
program to which the funds were transferred.
(f) Termination.--The pilot program and the Fund established under
subsection (a) shall both terminate on the date that is two years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $50,000,000 to be deposited into the Fund and to carry out
this section.
SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RESOURCING PLAN FOR DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Within one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall develop a plan for the
development of a modern digital ecosystem that embraces state-of-the-
art tools and modern processes to enable development, testing,
fielding, and continuous update of artificial intelligence-powered
applications at speed and scale from headquarters to the tactical edge.
(b) Contents of Plan.--At a minimum, the plan required by
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) an open architecture and an evolving reference design
and guidance for needed technical investments in the proposed
ecosystem that address issues including common interfaces,
authentication, applications, platforms, software, hardware,
and data infrastructure;
(2) a governance structure, together with associated
policies and guidance, to drive the implementation of the
reference throughout the Department on a federated basis; and
(3) a review of relevant authorities to operate and all
information technology policies that may impede progress of a
digital ecosystem.
SEC. 7. ACCREDITED ASSESSMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS.
(a) Accreditation Assessment for Artificial Intelligence Testing
Organizations.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 540 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology shall establish a program
under which the Director provides accreditation to
organizations that the Director determines competent at
evaluating the potential, direct privacy, civil rights, and
civil liberties effects of artificial intelligence systems used
by covered agencies on United States persons.
(2) List.--The Director shall maintain a list of
organizations accredited under the program established under
paragraph (1).
(b) Covered Agencies.--For the purposes of this section, a covered
agency is--
(1) the Department of Defense;
(2) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in
section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C.
3003)); or
(3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(c) Artificial Intelligence System Criteria and Testing.--
(1) In general.--The privacy and civil liberties officers
of covered agencies shall establish criteria for when an
artificial intelligence system of a covered agency warrants
accredited testing for privacy, civil liberties, and civil
rights implications for individuals in the United States.
(2) Adoption by agencies.--The head of a covered agency
shall--
(A) adopt the criteria established under paragraph
(1); and
(B) submit each artificial intelligence system of
the covered agency that meets the criteria for testing
established under paragraph (1) to an organization
accredited under the program established under
subsection (a)(1) for evaluation in accordance with
subsection (e).
(d) Testing.--
(1) In general.--The head of a covered agency shall submit
an artificial intelligence system that meets the criteria for
testing established under subsection (c)(1) to an organization
for an assessment of the performance of the artificial
intelligence system according to the risk management framework
developed under section 22A(c) of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278h-1(c))--
(A) before procuring, fielding, or using the
artificial intelligence system; and
(B) after the artificial intelligence system passes
an evaluation performed by an organization under
subsection (e).
(e) Scope of Testing.--Each organization accredited under the
program established under subsection (a)(1) shall, in evaluating an
artificial intelligence system of a covered agency and as a condition
on maintenance of such accreditation--
(1) utilize metrics relevant to the mission and authorities
of the covered agency;
(2) develop approaches to test--
(A) a software product used in an artificial
intelligence system, as installed in a test facility;
and
(B) cloud-based services relevant to the artificial
intelligence system;
(3) engage in binding agreements that enable the covered
agency and other stakeholders to share confidential and
proprietary data with the organization; and
(4) collaborate with the covered agency to reach consensus
on appropriate protocols and approaches for handling data, test
results, and analyses.
(f) Annual Reports.--Once the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology establishes the program required by subsection
(a)(1), each privacy and civil liberties officer of a covered agency
shall, not less frequently than once each year, submit to Congress a
report on the results of the testing on artificial intelligence systems
of the covered agency under this section to ensure Congress understands
the potential, direct privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties
effects of such artificial intelligence systems.
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