Portman proposes bipartisan bill to increase number of military AI, cyber experts

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) on June 16 cosponsored a bipartisan bill to ramp up the U.S. military’s numbers of artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber professionals working in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

“The American military should utilize every tool available, including artificial intelligence, to carry out its mission,” said Sen. Portman, who introduced the Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act, S. 3965, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). The lawmakers are co-founders of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus. 

If enacted, S. 3965 would require that the U.S. Defense Secretary develop a training and certification program to better enable DOD’s human resources workforce to bring AI and cyber professionals into the department; and would require the secretary to issue guidance on how DOD could better utilize existing direct-hire authority to bring in more AI professionals, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Portman’s office.

Additionally, the bill would provide officers with a grade of major general or above with authority to waive certain qualification standards for applicants with exceptional AI skills, and would modify the U.S. Armed Services Vocational Aptitude test to add a computational assessment to identify applicants with AI skills, according to the summary.

“The National Security Commission on AI has done great work researching how to make the United States more competitive and capable when it comes to AI. But their work is only half the battle,” said Sen. Portman. “This bipartisan legislation builds on the commission’s efforts to strengthen the AI capabilities of our military by enabling the increased hiring of AI and cyber professionals.” 

In fact, provisions in S. 3965 would implement the recommendations made in March by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, according to the senator’s office.

“We must make sure DOD is using the tools at their disposal to recruit the next generation of AI professionals and give them the authority they need to hire experts in the field,” said Sen. Heinrich. “I am proud to join Senator Portman in this bipartisan effort to enhance DOD’s AI capabilities and I will keep working to develop smart, responsible policies that keep our nation at the forefront of critical artificial intelligence innovations.”