FY21 NDAA §7224 — Federal AI Procurement Pilot (Pub. L. 116-283)
United States · Pub. L. No. 116-283, §7224 (Jan. 1, 2021)
Section 7224 of the FY21 NDAA (William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act, Pub. L. 116-283) directed the Department of Defense to establish AI ethics steering committees and procurement pilots. One of the earliest federal AI-specific procurement guardrails, predating the EO 14110 framework by nearly three years.
Technical detail
Pub. L. No. 116-283, §7224 (William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA for FY21, Jan. 1, 2021) — directed DoD to (1) establish a DoD AI ethics committee, (2) conduct AI procurement pilots focused on data labeling, model evaluation, and adversarial testing, (3) report annually to congressional defense committees on AI-related procurement metrics. Section enacted via congressional override of Trump veto on Jan. 1, 2021.
Who is protected: DoD AI contracting + downstream procurement ecosystem
Who must comply: Department of Defense
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | United States |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | In effect |
| Protection strength | Limited protection |
| Effective date | 2021-01-01 |
| Enacted | 2021-01-01 |
| Citation | Pub. L. No. 116-283, §7224 (Jan. 1, 2021) |
| Enforced by | DoD CDAO + Inspector General |
| Private right of action | No — agency enforcement only |
| Topics | government use of AI |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | Pub. L. 116-283 (FY21 NDAA, PDF) ↗ |
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