Today, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Ranking Member of the House Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee, and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Chairman of the House Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, introduced the AI Leadership to Enabling Responsible Deployment (AI LEAD) Act. This bipartisan bill would help prepare the federal government to safely and effectively use artificial intelligence (AI) by creating a Chief AI Officer position for each federal agency and establishing an interagency council of those officers. A companion bill is being led in the Senate by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and John Cornyn (R-TX).
“Artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on how governments carry out their missions.” Mr Connolly said. “The federal government needs dedicated leadership to manage the potential disruptions, risks, and promise of AI. The legislation I’m proud to introduce alongside Congressman Garbarino would bring structure and accountability to government stewardship of AI and ensure all agencies have leadership overseeing the safe and efficient deployment of AI technologies.”
“As Chairman of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, I have been examining the impact of artificial intelligence on national security as it relates to threats to our nation’s critical infrastructure and addressing cyber workforce challenges. Ensuring consistency in the oversight, use, and development of AI across government agencies will aid interagency coordination and ensure the government is operating in lockstep in these areas.” Garbarino said. “By establishing a Chief AI Officer position within an agency and ensuring interagency collaboration on AI, this legislation will go a long way to mitigating the risks and maximizing the opportunities presented by the development and deployment of AI.”
The AI LEAD Act would create a Chief AI Officer position at each federal agency to oversee the agency’s AI efforts and policies. The bill also creates an interagency Council of Chief AI Officers to ensure coordination on the use of AI across the federal government. Additionally, the bill would create an AI committee of senior agency officials to coordinate and integrate AI activities and policies across agencies. Finally, the bill would direct all federal agencies to develop an AI strategy and hold agency heads responsible for ensuring responsible research, development, acquisition, and use of AI.
The text of the bill is available here.