The White House has mandated that all US federal agencies appoint chief AI officers as part of new requirements issued on March 28th. Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of these officers overseeing all use of AI within their respective agencies. These officers must possess the necessary experience, expertise, and authority to ensure responsible AI use across the government.
Meetings have been held among officials from various agencies since December to coordinate efforts in compliance with the new rules. By May 27th, federal agencies are also required to establish AI governance boards to coordinate and govern AI use, with only four agencies having done so as of March 28th.
In addition to appointing chief AI officers and establishing governance boards, government agencies must introduce safeguards by December 1, 2024. These safeguards are aimed at monitoring public impact and reducing algorithmic discrimination, particularly in areas such as healthcare, airport travel, and fraud detection in government services.
Transparency around AI use is also a key requirement outlined by the White House, with agencies expected to release an expanded annual inventory of AI use cases, report metrics withheld from the public, and release government-owned AI code and data when safe to do so. Agencies are also mandated to inform the public of any AI exempted from compliance with OMB policy.
To support these initiatives, the White House plans to expand the AI workforce by hiring 100 AI professionals in government by the end of July. An additional $5 billion has been allocated in the latest government budget for the expansion of a government-wide AI training program.
These new requirements mark the completion of the 150-day action outlined in President Biden’s AI executive order from October 2023. The broader order covers a range of AI safety, security, and privacy requirements for federal agencies.
