Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 139602020-27065
Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Government
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Published
December 8, 2020
Signed
December 3, 2020
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 236 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 78939-78943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27065]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 8, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 78939]]
Executive Order 13960 of December 3, 2020
Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial
Intelligence in the Federal Government
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. Artificial intelligence (AI)
promises to drive the growth of the United States
economy and improve the quality of life of all
Americans. In alignment with Executive Order 13859 of
February 11, 2019 (Maintaining American Leadership in
Artificial Intelligence), executive departments and
agencies (agencies) have recognized the power of AI to
improve their operations, processes, and procedures;
meet strategic goals; reduce costs; enhance oversight
of the use of taxpayer funds; increase efficiency and
mission effectiveness; improve quality of services;
improve safety; train workforces; and support decision
making by the Federal workforce, among other positive
developments. Given the broad applicability of AI,
nearly every agency and those served by those agencies
can benefit from the appropriate use of AI.
Agencies are already leading the way in the use of AI
by applying it to accelerate regulatory reform; review
Federal solicitations for regulatory compliance; combat
fraud, waste, and abuse committed against taxpayers;
identify information security threats and assess trends
in related illicit activities; enhance the security and
interoperability of Federal Government information
systems; facilitate review of large datasets;
streamline processes for grant applications; model
weather patterns; facilitate predictive maintenance;
and much more.
Agencies are encouraged to continue to use AI, when
appropriate, to benefit the American people. The
ongoing adoption and acceptance of AI will depend
significantly on public trust. Agencies must therefore
design, develop, acquire, and use AI in a manner that
fosters public trust and confidence while protecting
privacy, civil rights, civil liberties, and American
values, consistent with applicable law and the goals of
Executive Order 13859.
Certain agencies have already adopted guidelines and
principles for the use of AI for national security or
defense purposes, such as the Department of Defense's
Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence
(February 24, 2020), and the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence's Principles of Artificial
Intelligence Ethics for the Intelligence Community
(July 23, 2020) and its Artificial Intelligence Ethics
Framework for the Intelligence Community (July 23,
2020). Such guidelines and principles ensure that the
use of AI in those contexts will benefit the American
people and be worthy of their trust.
Section 3 of this order establishes additional
principles (Principles) for the use of AI in the
Federal Government for purposes other than national
security and defense, to similarly ensure that such
uses are consistent with our Nation's values and are
beneficial to the public. This order further
establishes a process for implementing these Principles
through common policy guidance across agencies.
Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United
States to promote the innovation and use of AI, where
appropriate, to improve Government operations and
services in a manner that fosters public trust, builds
confidence
[[Page 78940]]
in AI, protects our Nation's values, and remains
consistent with all applicable laws, including those
related to privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
(b) It is the policy of the United States that
responsible agencies, as defined in section 8 of this
order, shall, when considering the design, development,
acquisition, and use of AI in Government, be guided by
the common set of Principles set forth in section 3 of
this order, which are designed to foster public trust
and confidence in the use of AI, protect our Nation's
values, and ensure that the use of AI remains
consistent with all applicable laws, including those
related to privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
(c) It is the policy of the United States that the
Principles for the use of AI in Government shall be
governed by common policy guidance issued by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) as outlined in section 4
of this order, consistent with applicable law.
Sec. 3. Principles for Use of AI in Government. When
designing, developing, acquiring, and using AI in the
Federal Government, agencies shall adhere to the
following Principles:
(a) Lawful and respectful of our Nation's values.
Agencies shall design, develop, acquire, and use AI in
a manner that exhibits due respect for our Nation's
values and is consistent with the Constitution and all
other applicable laws and policies, including those
addressing privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
(b) Purposeful and performance-driven. Agencies
shall seek opportunities for designing, developing,
acquiring, and using AI, where the benefits of doing so
significantly outweigh the risks, and the risks can be
assessed and managed.
(c) Accurate, reliable, and effective. Agencies
shall ensure that their application of AI is consistent
with the use cases for which that AI was trained, and
such use is accurate, reliable, and effective.
(d) Safe, secure, and resilient. Agencies shall
ensure the safety, security, and resiliency of their AI
applications, including resilience when confronted with
systematic vulnerabilities, adversarial manipulation,
and other malicious exploitation.
(e) Understandable. Agencies shall ensure that the
operations and outcomes of their AI applications are
sufficiently understandable by subject matter experts,
users, and others, as appropriate.
(f) Responsible and traceable. Agencies shall
ensure that human roles and responsibilities are
clearly defined, understood, and appropriately assigned
for the design, development, acquisition, and use of
AI. Agencies shall ensure that AI is used in a manner
consistent with these Principles and the purposes for
which each use of AI is intended. The design,
development, acquisition, and use of AI, as well as
relevant inputs and outputs of particular AI
applications, should be well documented and traceable,
as appropriate and to the extent practicable.
(g) Regularly monitored. Agencies shall ensure that
their AI applications are regularly tested against
these Principles. Mechanisms should be maintained to
supersede, disengage, or deactivate existing
applications of AI that demonstrate performance or
outcomes that are inconsistent with their intended use
or this order.
(h) Transparent. Agencies shall be transparent in
disclosing relevant information regarding their use of
AI to appropriate stakeholders, including the Congress
and the public, to the extent practicable and in
accordance with applicable laws and policies, including
with respect to the protection of privacy and of
sensitive law enforcement, national security, and other
protected information.
(i) Accountable. Agencies shall be accountable for
implementing and enforcing appropriate safeguards for
the proper use and functioning of their applications of
AI, and shall monitor, audit, and document compliance
[[Page 78941]]
with those safeguards. Agencies shall provide
appropriate training to all agency personnel
responsible for the design, development, acquisition,
and use of AI.
Sec. 4. Implementation of Principles. (a) Existing OMB
policies currently address many aspects of information
and information technology design, development,
acquisition, and use that apply, but are not unique, to
AI. To the extent they are consistent with the
Principles set forth in this order and applicable law,
these existing policies shall continue to apply to
relevant aspects of AI use in Government.
(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the
Director of OMB (Director), in coordination with key
stakeholders identified by the Director, shall publicly
post a roadmap for the policy guidance that OMB intends
to create or revise to better support the use of AI,
consistent with this order. This roadmap shall include,
where appropriate, a schedule for engaging with the
public and timelines for finalizing relevant policy
guidance. In addressing novel aspects of the use of AI
in Government, OMB shall consider updates to the
breadth of its policy guidance, including OMB Circulars
and Management Memoranda.
(c) Agencies shall continue to use voluntary
consensus standards developed with industry
participation, where available, when such use would not
be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise
impracticable. Such standards shall also be taken into
consideration by OMB when revising or developing AI
guidance.
Sec. 5. Agency Inventory of AI Use Cases. (a) Within 60
days of the date of this order, the Federal Chief
Information Officers Council (CIO Council), in
coordination with other interagency bodies as it deems
appropriate, shall identify, provide guidance on, and
make publicly available the criteria, format, and
mechanisms for agency inventories of non-classified and
non-sensitive use cases of AI by agencies.
(b) Within 180 days of the CIO Council's completion
of the directive in section 5(a) of this order, and
annually thereafter, each agency shall prepare an
inventory of its non-classified and non-sensitive use
cases of AI, within the scope defined by section 9 of
this order, including current and planned uses,
consistent with the agency's mission.
(c) As part of their respective inventories of AI
use cases, agencies shall identify, review, and assess
existing AI deployed and operating in support of agency
missions for any inconsistencies with this order.
(i) Within 120 days of completing their respective inventories, agencies
shall develop plans either to achieve consistency with this order for each
AI application or to retire AI applications found to be developed or used
in a manner that is not consistent with this order. These plans must be
approved by the agency-designated responsible official(s), as described in
section 8 of this order, within this same 120-day time period.
(ii) In coordination with the Agency Data Governance Body and relevant
officials from agencies not represented within that body, agencies shall
strive to implement the approved plans within 180 days of plan approval,
subject to existing resource levels.
(d) Within 60 days of the completion of their
respective inventories of use cases of AI, agencies
shall share their inventories with other agencies, to
the extent practicable and consistent with applicable
law and policy, including those concerning protection
of privacy and of sensitive law enforcement, national
security, and other protected information. This sharing
shall be coordinated through the CIO and Chief Data
Officer Councils, as well as other interagency bodies,
as appropriate, to improve interagency coordination and
information sharing for common use cases.
(e) Within 120 days of the completion of their
inventories, agencies shall make their inventories
available to the public, to the extent practicable and
in accordance with applicable law and policy, including
those concerning the protection of privacy and of
sensitive law enforcement, national security, and other
protected information.
[[Page 78942]]
Sec. 6. Interagency Coordination. Agencies are expected
to participate in interagency bodies for the purpose of
advancing the implementation of the Principles and the
use of AI consistent with this order. Within 45 days of
this order, the CIO Council shall publish a list of
recommended interagency bodies and forums in which
agencies may elect to participate, as appropriate and
consistent with their respective authorities and
missions.
Sec. 7. AI Implementation Expertise. (a) Within 90 days
of the date of this order, the Presidential Innovation
Fellows (PIF) program, administered by the General
Services Administration (GSA) in collaboration with
other agencies, shall identify priority areas of
expertise and establish an AI track to attract experts
from industry and academia to undertake a period of
work at an agency. These PIF experts will work within
agencies to further the design, development,
acquisition, and use of AI in Government, consistent
with this order.
(b) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in coordination
with GSA and relevant agencies, shall create an
inventory of Federal Government rotational programs and
determine how these programs can be used to expand the
number of employees with AI expertise at the agencies.
(c) Within 180 days of the creation of the
inventory of Government rotational programs described
in section 7(b) of this order, OPM shall issue a report
with recommendations for how the programs in the
inventory can be best used to expand the number of
employees with AI expertise at the agencies. This
report shall be shared with the interagency
coordination bodies identified pursuant to section 6 of
this order, enabling agencies to better use these
programs for the use of AI, consistent with this order.
Sec. 8. Responsible Agencies and Officials. (a) For
purposes of this order, the term ``agency'' refers to
all agencies described in section 3502, subsection (1),
of title 44, United States Code, except for the
agencies described in section 3502, subsection (5), of
title 44.
(b) This order applies to agencies that have use
cases for AI that fall within the scope defined in
section 9 of this order, and excludes the Department of
Defense and those agencies and agency components with
functions that lie wholly within the Intelligence
Community. The term ``Intelligence Community'' has the
meaning given the term in section 3003 of title 50,
United States Code.
(c) Within 30 days of the date of this order, each
agency shall specify the responsible official(s) at
that agency who will coordinate implementation of the
Principles set forth in section 3 of this order with
the Agency Data Governance Body and other relevant
officials and will collaborate with the interagency
coordination bodies identified pursuant to section 6 of
this order.
Sec. 9. Scope of Application. (a) This order uses the
definition of AI set forth in section 238(g) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019
as a reference point. As Federal Government use of AI
matures and evolves, OMB guidance developed or revised
pursuant to section 4 of this order shall include such
definitions as are necessary to ensure the application
of the Principles in this order to appropriate use
cases.
(b) Except for the exclusions set forth in section
9(d) of this order, or provided for by applicable law,
the Principles and implementation guidance in this
order shall apply to AI designed, developed, acquired,
or used specifically to advance the execution of
agencies' missions, enhance decision making, or provide
the public with a specified benefit.
(c) This order applies to both existing and new
uses of AI; both stand-alone AI and AI embedded within
other systems or applications; AI developed both by the
agency or by third parties on behalf of agencies for
the fulfilment of specific agency missions, including
relevant data inputs used to train AI and outputs used
in support of decision making; and agencies'
procurement of AI applications.
[[Page 78943]]
(d) This order does not apply to:
(i) AI used in defense or national security systems (as defined in 44
U.S.C. 3552(b)(6) or as determined by the agency), in whole or in part,
although agencies shall adhere to other applicable guidelines and
principles for defense and national security purposes, such as those
adopted by the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence;
(ii) AI embedded within common commercial products, such as word processors
or map navigation systems, while noting that Government use of such
products must nevertheless comply with applicable law and policy to assure
the protection of safety, security, privacy, civil rights, civil liberties,
and American values; and
(iii) AI research and development (R&D) activities, although the Principles
and OMB implementation guidance should inform any R&D directed at potential
future applications of AI in the Federal Government.
Sec. 10. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director relating to budgetary, administrative,
or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 3, 2020.
[FR Doc. 2020-27065
Filed 12-7-20; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 8, 2020.
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