President Joe Biden recently issued a sweeping national security memorandum on artificial intelligence (AI). The memo aims to streamline the procurement of AI capabilities for national security while ensuring that such adoption reflects democratic values and protects human rights, civil liberties, and privacy. During an address at the National Defense University in Washington, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized that the overarching goal is to ensure that the Defense Department, intelligence community, and broader U.S. government stay ahead in the AI race.
Some are saying the memorandum is just a political stunt because it has Harris’ name on it too — also a first.
“Even if we have the best AI models, but our competitors are faster to deploy, we could see them seize the advantage in using AI capabilities against our people, forces, partners, and allies,” Sullivan said. The memo addresses various areas, including computer chips, immigration, workforce issues, frontier model testing, and international collaboration. It specifically directs the Department of Defense (DoD), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Office of Management and Budget to establish a working group to address issues involving the procurement of AI by DoD and intelligence community elements within 30 days.
Within 210 days, the working group is to provide written recommendations to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council on potential changes to regulations and guidance. The changes are aimed at accelerating AI procurement while ensuring objective metrics are in place to promote AI systems’ safety, security, and trustworthiness. Sullivan noted that faster AI adoption, as envisaged by the memo, will mean reimagining acquisition and procurement systems and testing, validating, and fielding systems.
Streamlining national security AI procurement
He highlighted the importance of taking bold, persistent risks and getting out of comfort zones to ensure responsible implementation. The memo also aims to streamline processes so companies without experienced contracting teams can meaningfully compete for relevant contracts.
This effort seeks to make the AI marketplace competitive and accessible to a wide range of AI systems. Additionally, the memo establishes the AI Safety Institute within the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology as the primary contact with private sector AI developers. This institute will facilitate voluntary pre- and post-public deployment testing for frontier AI models’ safety, security, and trustworthiness.
The memo directs Commerce to establish an enduring capability for leading voluntary unclassified pre-deployment safety testing of frontier AI models on behalf of the United States government. This includes assessments of risks related to cybersecurity, biosecurity, chemical weapons, system autonomy, and other risks as appropriate. Furthermore, the memo directs the adoption of a “Framework to Advance AI Governance and Risk Management in National Security.” Sullivan believes that ensuring security and trustworthiness will enable faster AI adoption rather than slowing it down.
“Uncertainty breeds caution. When we lack confidence about safety and reliability, we’re slower to experiment, to adopt, to use new capabilities, and we just can’t afford to do that in today’s strategic landscape,” Sullivan said.
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