MITRE Response to OSTP’s RFI Supporting the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan

This RFI response leverages MITRE’s 50-year history of AI research and application to provide data-driven recommendations for updating the National AI R&D Strategy so that it advances technology, equity, and scientific integrity.

AI is a complex technology that is unfamiliar to most of our citizens, despite the growing impact it has on their lives—and their personal use of it. Public perceptions of AI can range from hype that borders on fantastical Hollywood depictions to glowing press releases to dire predictions of dystopian futures. The same holds true for legislators and policymakers, except they are also bombarded by policy advocate messaging for and against the technology—with wildly varying degrees of accuracy. AI policies need to have scientific integrity; they need to be based on rigorous evidence and methods rather than political objectives, fantasy, or fear.

From healthcare to national security, recent advances in AI can improve how we live our lives, modernize government operations, and increase national security. These same technologies can also create unintended consequences for democratic processes, mission-critical systems, and citizen privacy. Until recently, with rare exceptions, the idea of safeguards for AI systems was an afterthought. More needs to be done to mitigate bias, increase transparency, defend against attacks, secure the AI supply chain, and ensure the overall trustworthiness of AI systems so they perform as intended and are successfully applied in mission-critical environments. AI’s potential will only be realized through collaborations that produce reliable, responsible, fair, explainable, transparent, traceable, privacy-preserving, and secure technologies.