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| Interagency Working Group on Artificial Intelligence | |
|---|---|
| Name | Interagency Working Group on Artificial Intelligence |
| Formation | 2010s–2020s |
| Type | Executive coordination body |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Parent organization | Executive Office of the President |
Interagency Working Group on Artificial Intelligence
The Interagency Working Group on Artificial Intelligence was an executive coordination body convened to harmonize Office of Management and Budget policies with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards, align Department of Defense practices with Department of Homeland Security risk assessments, and support White House-level strategy development drawing on expertise from Department of Justice, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, and other federal entities. The group served as a focal point for interaction among agencies such as National Institutes of Health, Federal Trade Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Science Foundation while engaging with external stakeholders including Association for Computing Machinery, IEEE Standards Association, Partnership on AI, and private sector actors like Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), and OpenAI.
The working group emerged amid high-profile reports from National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Defense Innovation Board, and recommendations in the American AI Initiative and the Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. Founding discussions referenced frameworks from OECD and norm-setting documents from European Commission proposals and influenced regulatory experiments in states such as California, New York (state), and Virginia. Early convenings included contributions from research institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, Berkeley, and think tanks such as Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, and Bipartisan Policy Center.
Membership typically comprised senior officials or designated representatives from cabinet-level agencies including Department of State, Treasury Department, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, and independent entities such as Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Social Security Administration, and Small Business Administration. The organizational structure mirrored interagency models used by the National Security Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Council on Environmental Quality, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, with working groups, task forces, and technical coordination teams liaising with program offices like Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.
Mandates drew from executive directives similar to the Paperwork Reduction Act processes and policy goals echoed in the National AI Research and Development Strategic Plan and the Federal Data Strategy. Objectives included promoting trustworthy AI consistent with Privacy Act of 1974-style protections, supporting standards development at International Organization for Standardization, advancing procurement policies aligned with Federal Acquisition Regulation, and encouraging workforce initiatives akin to America COMPETES Act provisions. The group also sought to harmonize export control considerations referenced by Bureau of Industry and Security and national security priorities reflected in documents from the National Security Council and Homeland Security Presidential Directive frameworks.
Key activities encompassed drafting interagency memos consistent with Office of Personnel Management hiring guidance, coordinating pilot programs with United States Digital Service, and sponsoring research partnerships involving National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation grants. Initiatives included model contract language for procurement aligned with General Services Administration schedules, technical standards collaborations with Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, risk assessment toolkits influenced by National Institute of Standards and Technology publications, and public-private engagements modeled after Defense Innovation Unit and Commerce Department trade missions. The group also organized workshops with academic centers such as Allen Institute for AI and Turing Institute and convened multilateral dialogues with G7 and G20 counterparts.
The working group produced guidance on topics including algorithmic fairness drawing on scholarship linked to Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, and University of Chicago; transparency standards informed by reports from U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and safety protocols influenced by DARPA challenge outcomes and industry roadmaps from NVIDIA and Intel Corporation. Recommendations often referenced legal frameworks like the Administrative Procedure Act, Freedom of Information Act, and statutes enforced by Department of Justice antitrust divisions and Federal Trade Commission. The group advised on civil rights compliance in consultation with Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Education offices.
Coordination mechanisms included interagency memoranda of understanding mirroring templates from Interstate Commerce Commission-era coordination, joint funding announcements with National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, and collaborative rulemaking inputs to agencies such as Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission. Stakeholder outreach encompassed engagements with labor organizations like AFL–CIO and Service Employees International Union, industry groups such as Business Roundtable and Information Technology Industry Council, civil society actors like Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and standards bodies including World Economic Forum and ISO. The group also interfaced with international counterparts including European Commission, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan), and the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Critics from universities including Columbia University and New York University, advocacy organizations such as Public Citizen and Center for Democracy & Technology, and oversight entities like Government Accountability Office and Congressional Research Service raised concerns about transparency, accountability under Congressional Budget Office scrutiny, and potential regulatory capture noted in hearings before Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Challenges included interagency data sharing constrained by statutes like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and operational limits noted by Office of Management and Budget circulars, while oversight options involved testimony to United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, Inspector General reviews, and GAO audits.
Category:United States federal executive bodies