New AI Initiative Act Sets Up National AI Initiative Office and Amends NIST Act | Practical Law

New AI Initiative Act Sets Up National AI Initiative Office and Amends NIST Act | Practical Law

On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode a presidential veto to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (NAIIA). The NAIIA provides for the establishment of a National AI Initiative Office to further US leadership in AI research and development and amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Act to advance and support the development of AI standards.

New AI Initiative Act Sets Up National AI Initiative Office and Amends NIST Act

Practical Law Legal Update w-029-1901 (Approx. 3 pages)

New AI Initiative Act Sets Up National AI Initiative Office and Amends NIST Act

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 13 Jan 2021 • USA (National/Federal)
On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode a presidential veto to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (NAIIA). The NAIIA provides for the establishment of a National AI Initiative Office to further US leadership in AI research and development and amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Act to advance and support the development of AI standards.
On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode a presidential veto to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which included the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (NAIIA). Among other things, the NAIIA:
  • Provides for establishment of a National Artificial Intelligence Initiative (AI Initiative) and a corresponding office to further US leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development.
  • Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Act to include a mission to advance and support the development of AI standards.
(Pub. L. No. 116-283, § 5001-501, 134 Stat. 3388.)
Under the NAIIA, the President shall establish the AI Initiative to:
  • Further US leadership in AI research and development.
  • Carry out other national AI efforts, which include:
    • supporting interdisciplinary AI research and education;
    • interagency planning and coordinating of federal AI research and development; and
    • seeking public input.
To help achieve these goals, the NAIIA includes provisions establishing:
  • A National AI Initiative Office (AI Initiative Office).
  • An interagency committee to coordinate federal programs supporting the AI Initiative.
  • An interdisciplinary National AI Advisory Committee to advise the president and the AI Initiative Office.
  • A National AI Research Resource Task Force to investigate the feasibility of a system that provides researchers and students with access to computer and AI resources.
  • A program to award federal assistance for the establishment of a network of national AI research institutes.
The Act also amends the NIST Act to support the AI Initiative, including by providing that NIST will:
  • Advance standards for AI.
  • Support the development of:
    • risk-mitigation frameworks for deploying AI systems;
    • technical standards to promote trustworthy AI; and
    • technical standards to test for bias in AI.
  • Support research and development of best practices for trustworthy AI systems, which may involve privacy and information security, data management, and auditing mechanisms.
  • Produce curated, standardized, and privacy protected data sets for AI research, development, and use.
  • Together with other public and private organizations:
    • work to develop a voluntary risk management framework for trustworthy AI;
    • develop guidance for creating data sharing arrangements to advance AI, among private industry, federally funded research centers, and federal agencies; and
    • develop best practices for data sets that train AI.