The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has introduced the first governmentwide AI risk mitigation rules for U.S. federal agencies, requiring the designation of chief AI officers and the establishment of AI governance boards. These measures aim to coordinate and govern the responsible use of AI across organizations, emphasizing the need for increased transparency and public benefit. The memorandum stipulates that agencies must provide more detailed information in annual reports regarding the AI tools they utilize and release government-owned AI code. The OMB emphasized that agencies should prioritize AI development and adoption for the public good and where the technology can be instrumental in comprehending and addressing significant societal challenges.
The 34-page memorandum arrives as the executive order on AI, issued by President Joe Biden, marked a significant milestone with federal agencies successfully completing all 150-day actions. Agencies failing to comply with the latest guidance are required to cease using the AI system unless agency leadership can demonstrate that discontinuation would cause an unacceptable disruption of critical operations.
Agencies are also mandated to develop and publicly release a strategy to identify and eliminate barriers to the responsible use of AI, alongside steps to achieve enterprisewide improvements in AI maturity. The OMB has announced that it will issue a request for information to facilitate the development of regulations surrounding the federal procurement of AI tools and technologies.
Additionally, the memorandum calls for transparency in federal AI tools, requiring agencies to proactively share their custom-developed code for AI applications in use via open-source software on a public repository. This emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the sharing of custom-developed code with potential for re-use by other agencies or the public.
Furthermore, there are commitments to strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce, including hiring 100 AI professionals by summer 2024. The White House federal spending blueprint for the next fiscal year also contains a $5 million proposal to expand the governmentwide AI training program held by the General Services Administration.
