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Administration announces completion of 150-day actions tasked by President Bidens landmark Executive Order on AI

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing OMBs first government-wide policy to mitigate risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and harness its benefits delivering on a core component of the President Bidens landmark AI Executive Order. The Order directed sweeping action to strengthen AI safety and security, protect Americans privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, promote innovation and competition, advance American leadership around the world, and more. Federal agencies have reported that they have completed all of the 150-day actions tasked by the E.O, building on their previous success of completing all 90-day actions.

This multi-faceted direction to Federal departments and agencies builds upon the Biden-Harris Administrations record of ensuring that America leads the way in responsible AI innovation. In recent weeks, OMB announced that the Presidents Budget invests in agencies ability to responsibly develop, test, procure, and integrate transformative AI applications across the Federal Government.

In line with the Presidents Executive Order, OMBs new policy directs the following actions:

Address Risks from the Use of AI

This guidance places people and communities at the center of the governments innovation goals. Federal agencies have a distinct responsibility to identify and manage AI risks because of the role they play in our society, and the public must have confidence that the agencies will protect their rights and safety.

By December 1, 2024, Federal agencies will be required to implement concrete safeguards when using AI in a way that could impact Americans rights or safety. These safeguards include a range of mandatory actions to reliably assess, test, and monitor AIs impacts on the public, mitigate the risks of algorithmic discrimination, and provide the public with transparency into how the government uses AI. These safeguards apply to a wide range of AI applications from health and education to employment and housing.

For example, by adopting these safeguards, agencies can ensure that:

If an agency cannot apply these safeguards, the agency must cease using the AI system, unless agency leadership justifies why doing so would increase risks to safety or rights overall or would create an unacceptable impediment to critical agency operations.

To protect the federal workforce as the government adopts AI, OMBs policy encourages agencies to consult federal employee unions and adopt the Department of Labors forthcoming principles on mitigating AIs potential harms to employees. The Department is also leading by example, consulting with federal employees and labor unions both in the development of those principles and its own governance and use of AI.

The guidance also advises Federal agencies on managing risks specific to their procurement of AI. Federal procurement of AI presents unique challenges, and a strong AI marketplace requires safeguards for fair competition, data protection, and transparency. Later this year, OMB will take action to ensure that agencies AI contracts align with OMB policy and protect the rights and safety of the public from AI-related risks. The RFI issued today will collect input from the public on ways to ensure that private sector companies supporting the Federal Government follow the best available practices and requirements.

Expand Transparency of AI Use

The policy released today requires Federal agencies to improve public transparency in their use of AI by requiring agencies to publicly:

Today, OMB is also releasing detailed draft instructions to agencies detailing the contents of this public reporting.

Advance Responsible AI Innovation

OMBs policy will also remove unnecessary barriers to Federal agencies responsible AI innovation. AI technology presents tremendous opportunities to help agencies address societys most pressing challenges. Examples include:

Advances in generative AI are expanding these opportunities, and OMBs guidance encourages agencies to responsibly experiment with generative AI, with adequate safeguards in place. Many agencies have already started this work, including through using AI chatbots to improve customer experiences and other AI pilots.

Grow the AI Workforce

Building and deploying AI responsibly to serve the public starts with people. OMBs guidance directs agencies to expand and upskill their AI talent. Agencies are aggressively strengthening their workforces to advance AI risk management, innovation, and governance including:

Strengthen AI Governance

To ensure accountability, leadership, and oversight for the use of AI in the Federal Government, the OMB policy requires federal agencies to:

In addition to this guidance, the Administration announcing several other measures to promote the responsible use of AI in Government:

With these actions, the Administration is demonstrating that Government is leading by example as a global model for the safe, secure, and trustworthy use of AI. The policy announced today builds on the Administrations Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework, and will drive Federal accountability and oversight of AI, increase transparency for the public, advance responsible AI innovation for the public good, and create a clear baseline for managing risks.

It also delivers on a major milestone 150 days since the release of Executive Order 14110, and the table below presents an updated summary of many of the activities federal agencies have completed in response to the Executive Order.

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FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces OMB Policy to Advance Governance, Innovation, and Risk ... - The White House