OMB guidance on federal AI acquisition coming soon

The Office of Management and Budget is set to soon issue a new memo to help guide agencies’ acquisition of artificial intelligence technologies.

Deputy Federal CIO Drew Myklegard said Tuesday at FedTalks, produced by FedScoop, that on top of all the milestones the Biden administration has met since issuing its landmark AI executive order last fall, OMB has been developing guidance to ensure federal agencies are following best practices when acquiring AI technologies.

“We did a lot of listening sessions and feedback, and we heard from people from around the world — this is one of the areas that the federal government … needs to really lean forward in,” Myklegard said.

The forthcoming memo will follow the release of more wide-ranging OMB guidance issued March 28 on federal adoption of AI with a focus on governance, risk and transparency.

Myklegard didn’t give a specific timeline for the release of that guidance, but the executive order called for OMB to produce “an initial means to ensure that agency contracts for the acquisition of AI systems and services align with” OMB’s earlier AI guidance within 180 days of its issuance — so, by Sept 24.

FedScoop reached out to OMB for additional details on the planned release of the memo.

Along with that earlier federal AI guidance memo, OMB in March issued a request for information on responsible AI procurement “to inform future OMB action to govern AI use under Federal contracts.” The RFI, undersigned by Myklegard and Christine Harada, the acting administrator for federal procurement policy, generally asked for feedback in the areas of strengthening the federal AI marketplace and managing the performance and risks of AI.

“We hope we’re going to get that memo right,” Myklegard said of the AI procurement guidance. “We hope that we’ll get the acquisitions right, but we’re always learning, so we’re going to keep iteratively working on that.”

Separate from the requirement in the AI executive order, Senate lawmakers in June also drafted a bill that would require federal agencies to assess the risks of artificial intelligence technologies before purchasing and using them.

Additionally, OMB last week kicked off AI training for employees in leadership and policy roles, as well as acquisitions officials, the deputy federal CIO announced, “because we know how important it is when we’re purchasing it.”

Myklegard said it’s important that not only federal employees in technical roles are getting trained on AI, but that personnel in other roles like policy and acquisition receive that training as well “so when people in the federal government are encountering problems, they know how to leverage AI and best use it.”

Myklegard also pointed to the IT workforce as the key to ensuring that tech policy progress made during the Biden administration around AI and in several other areas will continue when a new president takes office in January.

“The whole leadership team is really focused on that next generation of IT leaders” to provide continuity between administrations, he said. “Our focus is really on those [career civil servants] inside of our team, within OMB. We’re focused on our employees and how we get through this time, how we make sure that there’s stability because whatever the outcome is, the federal government has to keep delivering on mission.”