,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dfhc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #d1 #bjbf,mr4 ,kelly 7for himself and ,mr4 ,cotton7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,defense to assess the effects of artificial intelligence integration on warfighter effectiveness1 skill retention1 and operational readiness1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,warfighter ,artificial ,intelligence ,readiness and ,preparedness ,act of #bjbf or the ,,warp ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,assessment of artificial intelligence effects on warfighter skill retention and operational readiness 7a7 ,assessment required ,commencing not later than ,august #a1 #bjbg1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of the effects on human performance of the adoption of artificial intelligence systems by personnel of the ,department of ,defense on the maintenance and retention of essential warfighter skills4 7b7 ,coordination and lead official ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall designate a senior official-- 7#a7 to coordinate the assessment and research activities required by this section2 7#b7 to oversee the integration of findings under this section into the policies of the ,department1 with the objective of maximizing both artificial intelligence-enabled performance and proficiency in critical1 hard-to-recover skills2 and 7#c7 who is authorized to coordinate among the military departments and relevant defense agencies for purposes of carrying out this section4 7c7 ,scope of assessment ,the assessment required under subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,identification of military occupational specialties and operational roles where structured proficiency management will be most critical to sustaining readiness alongside artificial intelligence adoption based on the susceptibility to skill atrophy resulting from reliance on artificial intelligence-enabled systems as well as speed and investments to recover such skill4 7#b7 ,evaluation of the conditions under which artificial intelligence-enabled systems augment warfighter capability and the conditions that call for deliberate proficiency sustainment measures to preserve independent judgment and awareness based on the cognitive1 operational1 and manual skills decline among personnel who regularly use artificial intelligence-enabled systems compared to personnel performing equivalent tasks without such systems4 7#c7 ,identification of measurable indicators that distinguish beneficial skill augmentation from conditions requiring proficiency intervention4 7#d7 ,assessment of how current training and certification programs can be structured to build and sustain critical1 hard-to-recover proficiency based on a review of the conditions under which reliance on artificial intelligence systems may contribute to overreliance1 miscalibrated confidence in system outputs1 diminished trust in independent human judgment1 or reduced situation awareness4 7#e7 ,evaluation of whether current training programs and certification standards adequately preserve critical warfighter proficiency for degraded-mode1 denied1 or contested operational environments1 including the adequacy of primary1 alternate1 contingency1 and emergency planning frameworks4 7#f7 ,recommendations for policies1 training protocols1 doctrine1 acquisition requirements1 talent management strategies1 or readiness metrics to ensure that artificial intelligence adoption strengthens operational readiness4 7d7 ,research activities 7#a7 ,in general ,the official designated under subsection 7b7 shall carry out research activities to support the assessment required under subsection 7a71 which may include controlled experiments or high-fidelity simulations comparing performance with and without artificial intelligence-enabled systems1 longitudinal studies measuring skill retention trajectories1 full-spectrum performance1 and recovery timelines1 assessment of operator confidence and decisionmaking accuracy under simulated contested conditions1 and development of standardized skill sustainment metrics applicable across the ,armed ,forces4 7#b7 ,coordination ,in carrying out the research activities under paragraph 7#a71 the official designated under subsection 7b7 shall coordinate with the following entities1 as appropriate3 7,a7 ,the ,army ,research ,institute for ,behavioral and ,social ,sciences4 7,b7 ,the ,office of ,naval ,research4 7,c7 ,the ,air ,force ,research ,laboratory ,human ,effectiveness ,directorate4 7,d7 ,the ,chief ,digital and ,artificial ,intelligence ,office4 7,e7 ,the military departments4 7,f7 ,assistant ,secretary of ,defense for ,readiness4 7,g7 ,such other research entities and operational commands as the ,secretary of ,defense considers appropriate4 7#c7 ,research methodology ,research conducted under this subsection shall-- 7,a7 establish baseline measurements of task performance and cognitive capabilities prior to artificial intelligence system use2 7,b7 assess performance changes during routine artificial intelligence-assisted operations2 7,c7 evaluate skill sustainment when artificial intelligence systems are removed or unavailable2 7,d7 measure recovery timelines to baseline proficiency after extended artificial intelligence-assisted operations2 and 7,e7 identify factors that accelerate or support skill sustainment4 7e7 ,reports 7#a7 ,initial report 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the assessment required under subsection 7a74 7,b7 ,elements ,the report required under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,an identification of military occupational specialties and operational roles where proficiency sustainment will be most critical based on which are most vulnerable to hard-to-recover skill atrophy4 7ii7 ,preliminary findings from controlled operational experiments and the design of longitudinal studies under subsection 7d77#a74 7iii7 ,an assessment of opportunities to strengthen readiness based on identification of high-level risks to proficiency based on current or planned artificial intelligence deployment practices4 7iv7 ,recommended changes to policies1 training1 doctrine1 or acquisition requirements to optimize human and artificial intelligence integration4 7v7 ,recommendations for updates1 identified as near- or long-term in nature1 to existing training programs1 certification standards1 and operational doctrine to build and sustain critical and hard-to-recover proficiencies and identification of the ,department of ,defense component or office best positioned to implement each such recommendation4 7vi7 ,an identification of any additional authorities1 resources1 research partnerships with academic institutions or federally funded research and development centers1 or technical expertise needed to conduct the research activities described in subsection 7d74 7#b7 ,longitudinal study report 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing the findings of the longitudinal studies conducted under subsection 7d77#a74 7,b7 ,elements ,the report required under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,an identification of measured rates of retention and atrophy of hard-to-recover skills across different military occupational specialties and operational contexts4 7ii7 ,an assessment of skill recovery trajectories and the time required to restore baseline proficiency4 7iii7 ,an evaluation of degraded-mode performance outcomes under simulated contested conditions4 7iv7 ,updated recommendations for policies1 training protocols1 doctrine1 acquisition requirements1 or readiness metrics based on research findings4 7v7 ,any update to the recommendations made under paragraph 7#a77;,b77v74 7f7 ,briefings 7#a7 ,initial briefing ,not later than #ij days after the submittal of the initial report under subsection 7e77#a71 the ,secretary of ,defense shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on the findings and recommendations contained in such report4 7#b7 ,longitudinal study briefing ,not later than #ij days after the submittal of the longitudinal study report under subsection 7e77#b71 the ,secretary of ,defense shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on the findings and recommendations contained in such report4 7g7 ,review of training and doctrine ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall assess whether existing training programs1 certification standards1 and operational doctrine adequately account for the effects of artificial intelligence-enabled systems on skill retention and degraded-mode performance and shall include in the reports required under subsection 7e7-- 7#a7 recommendations for updates1 as appropriate1 identified as near-term or longer-term in nature2 and 7#b7 identification of the ,department of ,defense component or office best positioned to consider implementation of each such recommendation4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,artificial intelligence system ,the term artificial intelligence system has the meaning given the term artificial intelligence in section #bch7;g7 of the ,john ,s4 ,mc,cain ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjai 7,public ,law #aae-bcb2 #aj ,u4,s4,c4 #djfa note prec474 7#b7 ,artificial intelligence-enabled system ,the term artificial intelligence-enabled system means any weapons system1 decision support tool1 or operational capability that incorporates or relies on an artificial intelligence system4 7#c7 ,congressional defense committees ,the term congressional defense committees has the meaning given that term in section #aja of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,degraded-mode operations ,the term degraded-mode operations means military operations conducted when artificial intelligence systems or supporting infrastructure are unavailable1 partially functional1 compromised1 or under adversarial attack4 7#e7 ,primary1 alternate1 contingency1 and emergency planning ,the term primary1 alternate1 contingency1 and emergency planning means a framework for ensuring continuity of operations when primary systems become unavailable1 requiring personnel to employ alternate approaches1 contingency plans1 or emergency procedures4