U.S. Proposes International Standards for AI Development

Strengthening American Leadership Abroad.

(a)  To strengthen United States leadership of global efforts to unlock AI’s potential and meet its challenges, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Director of OSTP, and the heads of other relevant agencies as appropriate, shall:

          (i)   lead efforts outside of military and intelligence areas to expand engagements with international allies and partners in relevant bilateral, multilateral, and multi-stakeholder fora to advance those allies’ and partners’ understanding of existing and planned AI-related guidance and policies of the United States, as well as to enhance international collaboration; and

          (ii)  lead efforts to establish a strong international framework for managing the risks and harnessing the benefits of AI, including by encouraging international allies and partners to support voluntary commitments similar to those that United States companies have made in pursuit of these objectives and coordinating the activities directed by subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section, and to develop common regulatory and other accountability principles for foreign nations, including to manage the risk that AI systems pose.

     (b)  To advance responsible global technical standards for AI development and use outside of military and intelligence areas, the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant agencies as appropriate, shall lead preparations for a coordinated effort with key international allies and partners and with standards development organizations, to drive the development and implementation of AI-related consensus standards, cooperation and coordination, and information sharing.  In particular, the Secretary of Commerce shall:

          (i)    within 270 days of the date of this order, establish a plan for global engagement on promoting and developing AI standards, with lines of effort that may include:

               (A)  AI nomenclature and terminology;

               (B)  best practices regarding data capture, processing, protection, privacy, confidentiality, handling, and analysis;

               (C)  trustworthiness, verification, and assurance of AI systems; and

               (D)  AI risk management;

          (ii)   within 180 days of the date the plan is established, submit a report to the President on priority actions taken pursuant to the plan; and

          (iii)  ensure that such efforts are guided by principles set out in the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and United States Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology.

     (c)  Within 365 days of the date of this order, to promote safe, responsible, and rights-affirming development and deployment of AI abroad:

          (i)   The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the director of NIST, shall publish an AI in Global Development Playbook that incorporates the AI Risk Management Framework’s principles, guidelines, and best practices into the social, technical, economic, governance, human rights, and security conditions of contexts beyond United States borders.  As part of this work, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall draw on lessons learned from programmatic uses of AI in global development.

          (ii)  The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in collaboration with the Secretary of Energy and the Director of NSF, shall develop a Global AI Research Agenda to guide the objectives and implementation of AI-related research in contexts beyond United States borders.  The Agenda shall:

               (A)  include principles, guidelines, priorities, and best practices aimed at ensuring the safe, responsible, beneficial, and sustainable global development and adoption of AI; and

               (B)  address AI’s labor-market implications across international contexts, including by recommending risk mitigations.

     (d)  To address cross-border and global AI risks to critical infrastructure, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, and in consultation with the heads of other relevant agencies as the Secretary of Homeland Security deems appropriate, shall lead efforts with international allies and partners to enhance cooperation to prevent, respond to, and recover from potential critical infrastructure disruptions resulting from incorporation of AI into critical infrastructure systems or malicious use of AI.

          (i)   Within 270 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall develop a plan for multilateral engagements to encourage the adoption of the AI safety and security guidelines for use by critical infrastructure owners and operators developed in section 4.3(a) of this order.

          (ii)  Within 180 days of establishing the plan described in subsection (d)(i) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report to the President on priority actions to mitigate cross-border risks to critical United States infrastructure.