The Defense Department has released new guidance for staff who buy artificial intelligence systems. The guidance is meant to make sure those systems follow what the Trump administration calls “truth-seeking” and “ideological neutrality” principles.
The directive was issued by John Tenaglia, principal director for defense pricing, contracting and acquisition policy. It supports President Donald Trump’s goal to “prevent woke AI” in the federal government.
What the Executive Order Requires
Trump signed an executive order last July on AI used by federal agencies. It requires agencies to make sure the large language models they buy are “neutral, nonpartisan tools.”
The order says these tools should not shape answers in favor of what it calls “ideological dogmas,” such as diversity, equity and inclusion.
Trump said federal agencies “have the obligation not to procure models that sacrifice truthfulness and accuracy to ideological agendas.”
The Office of Management and Budget later released a memo. It answered some of the questions that came up after the order was published.
How the Pentagon Guidance Works
Tenaglia said following the executive order and the OMB memo is mandatory. However, he said the new Pentagon document is meant “as guidance only.”
He said its goal is to offer “a standardized approach to documenting, soliciting and enforcing the unbiased AI principles.”
Tenaglia also noted that AI purchases differ in how complex and risky they are. Because of this, Defense Department offices can revise or add to the language to fit their own needs.
The guidance includes templates to walk buyers through different stages of buying AI systems. These templates are meant to help confirm that contractors follow the department’s “unbiased AI” principles.
One template is a memo that helps offices choose the right transparency and documentation rules for a purchase. Another provides standard language telling companies what documents they must submit to show they comply.
A third template offers formal contract language. It can be added to the statement of work or performance work statement in both the solicitation and the final contract.
The guidance arrives as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushes to bring more commercial AI into the department. Earlier this year, the department released an AI strategy aimed at making it an “AI-first warfighting force.”
Hegseth said the department will invest heavily in AI computing infrastructure. That includes everything from data centers to systems used at the tactical edge.
Rep. Jimmy Patronis, a Florida Republican, is currently working to write Trump’s executive order on “woke AI” into law.
“If the federal government is going to use and promote these tools, then AI designers either need to align their programs to remove leftwing biases from their algorithm, or they need to get out of the business of federal contracting,” Patronis said in a statement.
