WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - The White House is rolling out new guidelines on how the government should use artificial intelligence for national security.

"Because there is probably no other technology that will be more critical to our national security in the years ahead," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

Sullivan outlined the presidential memo Thursday at the National War College. It directs intelligence agencies to expand their use of AI, fund more research on it and make AI threats from adversaries a top intelligence priority.

"We have to be faster in deploying AI in our national security enterprise than America's rivals are in theirs," Sullivan said.

George Washington University Law School Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Aram Gavoor says the guidelines give a framework to intelligence agencies otherwise operating on their own.

"This is a big deal," Gavoor said. "It is the most significant pronouncement of AI, not just policy, but doctrine for the national security and intelligence apparatus of the US government ever."

The directive also calls for managing the risks of AI, especially when it comes to nuclear weapons and monitoring Americans.

Gavoor says this is one of many steps the Biden administration has taken to advance U.S. interests with AI.

"This is a very significant puzzle piece among a mosaic of other actions," Gavoor said.

The Department of Defense says it's already preparing to implement some of the guidelines.

"To prioritize the adoption of artificial intelligence in National Security," Pentagon Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

Next week, the DoD is hositng a forum with 16 countries to discuss the responsible use of AI.