ARTICLE
19 December 2024

'All Hands On Deck' – White House Continues To Call On Agencies For AI National Security Plan

SM
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton

Contributor

Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm with over 1,000 attorneys in 16 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the US, the firm’s clients include more than half of the Fortune 100.
In the waning months of the current administration, the White House issued a memo setting forth actions focused on national security as directed in the AI Executive Order from last year.
United States Privacy

In the waning months of the current administration, the White House issued a memo setting forth actions focused on national security as directed in the AI Executive Order from last year. As a reminder, the order -while directed to government agencies- also had impacts on how businesses use of artificial intelligence.

The national security memo builds on last year's order, and of potential interest for businesses, calls on agencies including the Department of Defense, to assess potential risks to the US private sector's AI competitive advantage. The memo also tasks the National Science Foundation with piloting programs to support AI development, and the Department of Energy and others to coordinate the support of AI-enabled infrastructure.

On the security front, the memo outlines the role for NIST as the government's "primary point of contact" with the private sector's AI developers. The memo tasks NIST with developing testing standards to ensure the safety, security and trustworthiness of AI models. Among other things, NIST is to look at the ability for AI models to impersonate people and ways to stop malicious use of AI models as well as risk management processes through the AI development lifecycle.

Putting it Into Practice: As the year draws to a close and we anticipate a new administration in Washington, we do not anticipate any slow down in the involvement of agencies on AI development, although the focus of some initiatives may change. The role of NIST as a conduit and developer of standards for the development of AI models will also likely continue.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More