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A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to procure software and data as a service to support the development of artificial intelligence systems, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the “Flexible Acquisition of Software Technology Act” or the “FAST Act”.
SEC. 2. Procurement of software and data as a service to support artificial intelligence systems.
(a) Authorization.—For purposes of supporting the development and implementation of artificial intelligence systems to meet the operational needs of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense may—
(1) procure software as a service or software as a product;
(2) procure data as a service or data as a supply;
(3) modify software to support such systems; and
(4) research, develop, test, and evaluate such software.
(b) Funding.—The Secretary of Defense may carry out subsection (a) using amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the Secretary for any purpose.
(c) Regulations.—The Secretary of Defense shall issue or modify regulations as necessary to implement this section, which shall include regulations—
(1) to govern the procurement and modification of software and data for artificial intelligence systems under subsection (a); and
(2) to provide for the oversight of such procurements and modifications.
(d) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM.—The term “artificial intelligence system” means a system that is capable of performing tasks that normally require human-like cognition, including learning, decision-making, and problem-solving.
(2) DATA AS A SERVICE.—The term “data as a service” means a data delivery model in which data is provided on a subscription basis and is accessed remotely over the internet.
(3) DATA AS A SUPPLY.—The term “data as a supply” means a data delivery model in which data is acquired on a nonsubscription basis and retained locally rather than accessed remotely over the internet.
(4) SOFTWARE.—The term “software” has the meaning given the term “computer software” in part 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (or any successor regulation) and includes noncommercial, commercial, and commercial off-the-shelf software.
(5) SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE.—The term “software as a service” means a software delivery model in which software is provided on a subscription basis and is accessed remotely over the internet.