New IEEE Standard Aims to Guide Responsible Public Procurement of AI as Spending Surges
• IDC predicts global AI spending will nearly triple from $118B in 2022 to $300B in 2026, but public procurement systems are not ready for challenges of acquiring AI • IEEE introducing a new standard, IEEE P3119, to help government agencies more responsibly acquire public-interest AI • Standard provides guidance on evaluating if a problem requires AI, assessing vendor claims, recommending AI contract language, and evaluating solutions • Aims to help agencies strengthen requirements and provoke vendor transparency about AI risks and governance • Could be challenging to implement for some governments with historical regulations and limited capacity, needs testing against existing regimes