National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) Publishes Research Study on the Chief AI Officers at the Federal Level

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
August 7, 2024 
Contact: Janelle Brevard | jbrevard@nationalfairhousing.org 

National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) Publishes Research Study on the Chief AI Officers at the Federal Level

Washington, D.C. — Today, the  National Fair Housing Alliance® (NFHA™) published a groundbreaking research study focused on the recent directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the implementation of Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) within federal agencies. This initiative comes at a crucial time as federal expenditures on artificial intelligence (AI) have surged dramatically.

Last year, President Biden issued Executive Order (EO) 14110 on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI. Complementing this EO, the OMB released a memorandum outlining efforts to facilitate the responsible adoption of AI across federal agencies, including a directive to appoint Chief AI Officers responsible for implementing these new requirements with the goal of advancing AI innovation, AI risk management, and AI governance.

Michael Akinwumi, NFHA’s chief responsible AI officer, says the study is “aimed at gaining insights into the ongoing appointment of CAIOs and assess how their profiles align with the critical responsibilities of this pivotal role.”

“The research highlights the essential functions of CAIOs in government, emphasizes the importance of selecting candidates based on reasonable criteria, and underscores the value of transparency from public agencies regarding their AI governance initiatives,” according to Dr. Akinwumi.

Key findings of the study include:

1. A reasonable benchmark job description – NFHA developed a comprehensive job description tailored for the CAIO position within the government, serving as a benchmark to assess the status of current appointees.

2. Profile assessment – The investigation of shortlisted CAIOs demonstrated key takeaways from their public profiles relative to the responsibilities of the CAIO role. Two of the takeaways are:

• CAIOs are notably selected from senior agency leadership with data-intensive, operational, or policy backgrounds, but there is inconsistency in their areas of expertise and AI-related accomplishments.
• Many CAIOs have strong agency knowledge, but there is uncertainty about their applied knowledge of AI and the ability to meet the EO & OMB requirements.

3. Policy recommendations – In response to identified gaps and additional considerations for the success of CAIOs, NFHA presents policy recommendations focused on:

• Transparency of CAIO roles
• Role Alignment Criteria
• Development & Engagement Initiatives
• Measures of Success

NFHA hopes that these findings provide valuable insights for federal agencies to enhance transparency in their implementation of EO and OMB requirements. Lusine Petrosyan, NFHA’s AI policy researcher, says “agencies are encouraged to utilize the study’s key takeaways to assess potential CAIO appointees or enhance the suitability and readiness of existing CAIOs to lead the innovation, risk management, and governance of AI in government.”

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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. Through its homeownership, credit access, tech equity, education, member services, public policy, community development, and enforcement initiatives, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.