FY21 NDAA §7224 (AI procurement pilot)
FY21 NDAA §7224 — Federal AI Procurement Pilot (Pub. L. 116-283)
United States · Pub. L. No. 116-283, §7224 (Jan. 1, 2021)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- January 1, 2021
- Applies to
- Department of Defense
- Enforced by
- DoD CDAO + Inspector General
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.
Who is protected: DoD AI contracting + downstream procurement ecosystem
Legal 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.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | United States |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Strength | Limited |
| Enacted | January 1, 2021 |
| Citation | Pub. L. No. 116-283, §7224 (Jan. 1, 2021) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Topics | government use of AI |
| Statute | Pub. L. 116-283 (FY21 NDAA, PDF) |
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