In November, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released draft guidance for governance and risk management for federal agencies’ use of AI, as required under Executive Order 14110 and prior executive actions and legislation. Numerous civil society organizations submitted comments explaining ways in which OMB should strengthen the guidance to improve agencies’ transparency and accountability in their rights- and safety-impacting uses of AI. Strong guidance will be vital to ensuring that government AI practices respect people’s rights and do not interfere with their access to equal opportunities or critical services, and that the public understands how government uses of AI are impacting them. 

CDT, ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice, Center for American Progress, Data & Society, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Upturn have developed a summary of some common priorities across their comments to help other advocates and policymakers understand and engage on key issues that OMB’s efforts should address. This summary does not represent all priorities identified by these organizations – instead, it provides an overview of some shared priorities, while pointing to each of the listed organization’s own comments to learn more about their individual recommendations. 

In addition to the organizations listed above, a number of organizations also filed comments in the proceeding focused on issues related to civic technology and AI, including the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, New America’s Open Technology Initiative, and the Partnership for Public Service. These can be found on the relevant page of Regulations.gov. 

Read the full memo here.