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Federal Agency AI Use Case Inventories

Federal AI use case inventories make public many ways executive agencies use or plan to use AI, but their reporting rules come from multiple authorities.

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  1. Overzicht
  2. Diepe duik
  3. Strategische impact
  4. The Future of Federal Agency AI Use Case Inventories
  5. Implementatie in de echte wereld
  6. Risico's en vangrails
  7. Implementatie routekaart
  8. Blijf verkennen
  9. Veelgestelde vragen

Overzicht

As of the 2025 cycle, OMB M-25-21 directs most agencies to submit at least annual inventories and publish a public version, while law, security limits and reporting criteria determine what is included.

Diepe duik

Federal AI inventories are public reporting records, not a complete census of every algorithm or an audit of system performance. Their framework combines Executive Order 13960, the Advancing American AI Act in the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act, and OMB implementation memoranda. Section 7225 of the Act requires inventories of current and planned agency AI use cases and public availability subject to applicable law and policy; the statute specified a five-year period after enactment. OMB Memorandum M-25-21, issued April 3, 2025, sets an at-least-annual reporting cadence, submission to OMB, and a public version on agency websites. It excludes the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community from that memo’s inventory task. OMB’s 2025 reporting instructions translated these authorities into a data call with individually reported cases and consolidated reporting for some commercial off-the-shelf products. The instructions set a December 22, 2025 submission deadline to OMB and January 28, 2026 public posting date. They also set boundaries: some national-security, intelligence, research and other protected uses are outside reporting scope or not public, while high-impact or operational research cases can still require individual reporting. Exact exemptions and fields depend on current instructions, not the title of a product. The central OMB repository consolidates agency submissions and links to source agency inventories. Its 2025 release describes itself as a compilation of publicly available agency files. Entries are self-reported and reflect the fields and scope of that reporting cycle; a listing does not prove safety, effectiveness or completeness. Conversely, absence from the public repository does not establish that no AI is used. Treat the inventory as a transparency starting point and check the reporting year, agency source and limitations before drawing conclusions.

Strategische impact

Risico en veiligheid

Catastrofale en alledaagse schade door AI hangt af van wie de risico's begrijpt en wie kan handelen.

Duidelijkere beslissingen

Publieke en professionele geletterdheid bepalen of een krachtig veiligheidsbeleid politiek mogelijk is.

Door de hype heen snijden

Duidelijke verklaringen verminderen de kans op hypes, laboratorium-PR en vaag ethisch theater.

The Future of Federal Agency AI Use Case Inventories

OMB’s M-25-21 and the 2025 instructions establish the latest cycle documented in the public central repository as of April 2026. Future cycles may update fields, exemptions, deadlines and consolidation rules. The inventory statute’s stated five-year period and later agency guidance are separate legal sources, so check both when describing long-term authority. Agencies should verify new data-call instructions, watch for revised authorities, and note what each reporting cycle can and cannot tell the public. Do not assume a later publication date until OMB or the responsible agency posts it.

Implementatie in de echte wereld

A department records a planned tool that will triage applications, identifying its purpose, lifecycle stage, affected users and whether it is high-impact.

A component checks OMB’s current instructions before deciding whether a research project, commercial software feature or national-security use must be reported individually.

A public researcher uses OMB’s consolidated inventory to find a case, then follows the linked agency inventory for fuller context.

An agency excludes a protected detail from its public file but reports releasable fields and submits the information required to OMB.

Risico's en vangrails

  • Existentieel risico behandelen als sciencefiction, terwijl capaciteiten zich vermenigvuldigen.

  • De veiligheid van oppervlakteproducten verwarren met uitlijning onder hoge autonomie.

  • Hierdoor blijven niet-Engelstalige en niet-deskundige doelgroepen alleen bronnen van lage kwaliteit over.

Implementatie routekaart

  1. Afzonderlijke risico's voor productschade, misbruik en verlies van controle/verkeerde uitlijning.

  2. Vraag welk bewijs uw kijk op tijdlijnen en ernst zou veranderen.

  3. Geef de voorkeur aan primaire bronnen en concrete evaluaties boven marketingclaims.

  4. Identificeer één actiepad: carrière, beleid, financiering of vaardigheden – niet alleen bewustwording.

Blijf verkennen

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Veelgestelde vragen

What is Federal Agency AI Use Case Inventories?

Federal AI use case inventories make public many ways executive agencies use or plan to use AI, but their reporting rules come from multiple authorities. As of the 2025 cycle, OMB M-25-21 directs most agencies to submit at least annual inventories and publish a public version, while law, security limits and reporting criteria determine what is included.

What does OMB Memorandum M-25-21 direct most agencies to do with AI use cases?

M-25-21 calls for at-least-annual inventory submissions to OMB and public versions on agency websites, subject to stated exceptions.

Which two entities are excluded from M-25-21’s annual inventory task?

The memo explicitly excludes the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community from that inventory requirement.

What kind of information does the Advancing American AI Act say an inventory covers?

Section 7225 describes inventories of agency AI use cases, including current and planned uses.

How should readers interpret OMB’s consolidated repository?

OMB says it compiled the central repository from agency-published inventory information.

Why might an AI use case not appear as an individual public record?

Instructions identify some out-of-scope cases and cases with limits on public release.