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AI Policy & Governance

CDT Joins Others in a Letter to the Biden Administration to Include Baseline Requirements in Forthcoming National Security Memorandum to Address AI

CDT joined 15 civil society organizations and individuals in a letter to the Biden Administration setting forth baseline requirements that should be included in a forthcoming National Security Memorandum from the President to “address the governance of AI used as a component of a national security system or for military and intelligence purposes.” Executive Order No. 14,110 on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence requires this memorandum to be completed by July 26 of this year. This memorandum is a counterpart to the guidance released by the Office of Management and Budget in March establishing AI governance requirements for federal government use of AI in non-national security contexts. 

As the letter explains, establishing meaningful standards about the use of AI in the national security context is critical because it involves “some of the government’s most profound decisions, including who it may: surveil, place on government watchlists, subject to intrusive searches at the border, label a ‘risk’ or ‘threat’ to national security, allow to travel or immigrate to the United States, or even target with lethal force.” The use of AI systems will make the United States more secure only when those systems are demonstrably unbiased and effective, respect civil rights and civil liberties, are responsibly governed and overseen, and are understood by the American public. Accordingly, it is imperative that the memorandum provide (a) clear rules for governance, transparency, accountability, and external oversight; (b) uniform and robust standards for risk management; and (c) requirements for adherence to domestic and international legal norms. The memorandum is an important opportunity for the United States to re-commit to using AI to protect our national security in a way that is consistent with our values, the rule of law, and democratic principles.

Read the full letter.