Requirements for human oversight of use of force by the Department of Defense

(a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue regulations to ensure that— (1) the use of force by the Armed Forces of the United States remains subject to a clear, accountable, and identifiable human chain of command and control; (2) decisions to authorize, initiate, or terminate the use of force are attributable to human commanders and operators acting within established legal authorities; (3) the employment of any weapon system, whether unguided, autonomous, semi-autonomous, or otherwise enabled by advanced technologies, shall not eliminate human responsibility for the use of force; (4) all weapon systems shall be designed, fielded, and employed in a manner that preserves human accountability consistent with the law of armed conflict and any applicable law of the United States; and (5) any weapon system developed or employed by the Department of Defense that incorporates autonomous or artificial intelligence–enabled functions— (A) is designed and fielded consistent with Department of Defense Directive 3000.09 (relating to Autonomy in Weapon Systems), or any successor directive, including the requirement that all individuals in the human chain of command may exercise control over such system to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force; (B) includes operational plans, rules of engagement, doctrine, and training manuals that clearly specify the roles and responsibilities of commanders and operators in— (i) authorizing and supervising the use of force by the system; and (ii) executing manned-unmanned teaming concepts by semi-autonomous and fully autonomous formations; (C) is subject to exercises, simulations, trainings of relevant personnel, and concepts of employment that assess the risk of automation bias and evaluate the ability of commanders and operators to appropriately question, override, or disengage the system outputs during decisions involving the use of force as appropriate given the design of the system; (D) is subject to verification, validation, testing, and evaluation processes that assess— (i) system performance to ensure that the system is sufficiently robust and functions as anticipated in realistic operational environments; and (ii) the clarity of the human-command relationship and decision authorities; and (E) has mechanisms in place to ensure that after-action review processes can identify responsible human decision-makers within the chain of command for any employment of force involving the system. (b) Joint Doctrine for Autonomous Warfare (1) In general The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall develop a joint doctrine for autonomous warfare. (2) Contents The doctrine developed under paragraph (1) shall— (A) establish fundamental principles across the Joint Force that focus on manned-unmanned blended units and fully autonomous units, in which human and machine platforms conduct multi-domain operations; (B) consider new operational concepts, new command-and-control structures and processes, new training and military education, and new organizational reforms that integrate autonomy into warfighting; and (C) include the manner by which the Joint Force will incorporate new warfighting technologies, such as artificial intelligence, autonomous platforms and organizational units, and drone swarms, into existing joint doctrine. (c) Annual report to Congress (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the congressional defense committees a report that includes— (A) a description of the measures taken to ensure compliance with the requirements of subsection (a); (B) any identified risks of accountability gaps associated with new weapon systems or emerging technologies; and (C) any legislative action required to strengthen compliance with the requirements of subsection (a). (2) Form The annual report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.