The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has released a list of AI ethics and principles to guide the intelligence community (IC) on its use and development of AI and AI tools.
“These Principles supplement the Principles of Professional Ethics for the IC and do not modify or supersede applicable laws, executive orders, or policies,” the Principles of AI Ethics for the IC guide said. “Instead, they articulate the general norms that IC elements should follow in applying those authorities and requirements.”
The Principles for AI use include:
- Respect the Law and Act with Integrity;
- Transparent and Accountable;
- Objective and Equitable;
- Human-Centered Development and Use;
- Secure and Resilient; and
- Informed by Science and Technology.
“The IC leads in developing and using technology crucial to our national security mission, and we cannot do so without recognizing and acting on its ethical implications,” Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said. “These principles and their accompanying framework will help guide our mission leads and data scientists as they implement technology to solve intelligence problems.”
Stakeholders, including IC data scientists and privacy and civil liberties officers, developed this framework to ensure that IC organizations incorporate it into the design and use of AI technology, as well. Accompanying the six Principles of AI Ethics for the IC is a detailed AI Ethics Framework for the IC.
“We must ensure that our intelligence activities produce objective intelligence while protecting privacy and civil liberties,” ODNI Civil Liberties Protection Officer Ben Huebner said. “The use of AI provides new opportunities, but we must decide how to best use it to advance our mission. The Principles and Framework will provide a consistent approach.”
