Bipartisan legislation offered by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) would require the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance requiring federal agencies to incorporate the AI Risk Management Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) into their AI risk management efforts.
“The sensible guidelines established by NIST are already being utilized in the private sector and should be applied to federal agencies to make certain we are protecting the American people as we apply this technology to government functions,” Sen. Moran said.
The senator on Nov. 2 sponsored the Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act of 2023, S. 3205, with lead original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) to establish guidelines that would be used within the federal government to mitigate risks associated with AI while still benefiting from the new technology, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
NIST earlier this year released the AI Risk Management Framework to help public and private organizations ensure they use AI systems in a trustworthy manner. The framework is supported by a wide range of these organizations, but federal agencies are not currently required to use the framework to manage their use of AI systems, the summary says.
If enacted, S. 3205 would require federal agencies to incorporate the NIST framework into their AI management efforts to help limit any AI-associated risks.
“AI has tremendous potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government, in addition to the potential positive impacts on the private sector,” said Sen. Moran. “However, it would be naïve to ignore the risks that accompany this emerging technology, including risks related to data privacy and challenges verifying AI-generated data.”
The Enterprise Cloud Coalition, Workday and Microsoft endorsed the bill, along with several other organizations.
“It’s crucial that the federal government follow the reasonable guidelines already outlined by NIST when dealing with AI in order to capitalize on the benefits while mitigating risks,” agreed Sen. Warner.
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) plans to introduce companion legislation in his chamber, according to Sen. Moran’s office.