AIInterim Report on U.S. and AI Released to Congress

The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) released its Interim Reportto Congress last week and will share its initial assessments from the report with Congress, government, industry, academia, non-profits, associations, and the public tomorrow in a conference titled, “Strength Through Innovation: The Future of AI and National Security.”

The 15 members bring to the Commission a diverse set of views from academia, private sector, and government. The Commission issued its Interim Report last week and it reflects the consensus view of all Commission members. The Commissioners agreed to seven principles and 27 initial judgements to guide their work going forward. The full report is located here.

“As NSCAI’s report conveys, U.S. leadership in promoting trust and innovation in artificial intelligence is imperative to the future of our nation’s security and economy. Through the President’s American AI Initiative, in collaboration with the private sector, academia, the public, and like-minded international partners, the Administration is executing a whole of government approach to ensure continued U.S. leadership in AI. This includes efforts underway to promote AI research and development, prepare the workforce of the future, develop technical standards for reliable, robust, and trustworthy AI, and remove regulatory barriers to AI innovation. We thank the NSCAI for its contributions and look forward to continuing this important conversation,” said Michael Kratsios, Chief Technology Officer of the United States.

NSCAI says that the Commissioners have held 17 working group meetings and 4 plenary sessions in the past 8 months, and the Commission’s staff has held more than 200 engagements with industry, academia, the government, and civil society groups. The NSCAI is committed to collaborating with, and providing timely recommendations to Congress and the executive branch.

“The United States will have to confront hard choices between economic and security interests, between maintaining our openness and protecting our innovation economy from strategic competitors, and between commercial and national objectives, all the while balancing short and long-term considerations,” said NSCAI Chair Dr. Eric Schmidt. “We are a pro-America Commission, and the final report will say how we will win this competition.”

The Commission is an independent federal entity, and its goal is to complement and strengthen ongoing AI-related efforts in the executive branch and Congress, while also making additional recommendations to integrate artificial intelligence into national security programs. The Commission and its staff have received more than 200 classified and unclassified briefings since the Commission began work in March 2019 and they will continue to reach out to academia, industry, non-profits, associations, and government to formulate recommendations for the final report.