Artificial Intelligence

On this page:

• What is Artificial Intelligence?
• What We Have Accomplished
• The Next 12 Months
• Contact Us
• References

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is defined as a machine-based system that can go beyond defined results and scenarios and has the ability to emulate human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action. For a given set of human-defined objectives, AI can make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments (adapted from the National Defense Authorization Act (2021)).

What We Have Accomplished

• Issued SECY-24-0035, “Advancing the Use of Artificial Intelligence at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” (ML24086A002), on April 24, 2024, summarizing potential AI applications and the staff’s overall approach to effectively leverage AI at the NRC.
• Set goals for AI implementation, appointed a Chief AI Officer, and created an AI Governance Board as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum M‑24‑10 to ensure the agency's use of AI is adequately managed.
• Began development on an AI compliance plan in response to the OMB memorandum by leveraging the recently provided OMB template. The Compliance Plan template describes the minimum information required from agencies to describe their plans to achieve consistency with M-24-10.
• Developed the NRC’s AI Strategic Plan (ML23132A305) to achieve AI regulatory readiness. The staff is progressing on the execution of the AI Project Plan (ML24194A116).
• Created an AI Steering Committee to promote cross-office coordination and direction to prepare the agency for the future use of AI in NRC-regulated activities.
• Published an AI principles paper with Canada and the United Kingdom on September 5, 2024 (ML24241A252), outlining guiding principles for the safe and secure use of AI in nuclear applications.
• Hosted an International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Meeting on the near-term deployment of AI solutions in the nuclear power industry on March 18-21, 2024.
• Hosted a public workshop at NRC Headquarters on September 17, 2024, to discuss the results of potential regulatory gaps and considerations in evaluating AI technologies.

The Next 12 Months

• Publish a strategy for identifying and removing barriers to the responsible use of AI and achieving enterprise-wide improvements in AI maturity.
• Broaden the scope of generative AI training to agency staff and contractors and the development of the rules of behavior for the use of generative AI tools.
• Continue to engage with the inspection community across all regions and inspection types in Future Focused Research outreach sessions.
• Further develop the regulatory framework to support the use of AI in NRC-regulated activities.
• Continue communication with industry stakeholders to ensure preparedness for future uses of AI in NRC-regulated activities.

Contact Us

If you have questions about artificial intelligence, please see our Contact Us form.

References

• "Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-2027" (NUREG-2261) 
• "Artificial Intelligence Project Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-2027, Revision 1" (ML24194A116)
• "Advancing the Use of Artificial Intelligence at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission" SECY-24-0035 (ML24086A002)
• "Considerations for Developing Artificial Intelligence Systems in Nuclear Applications" (ML24241A252)
• National Defense Authorization Act (2021)
• MOU between NRC and DOE on Cooperation in the Area of Operating Experience and Applications of Data Analytics (ML21069A328)
• MOU between NRC and EPRI on Cooperative Nuclear Safety Research Related to Advanced Nuclear Technologies and Data Science (ML21263A196)
• "Exploring Advanced Computational Tools and Techniques with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Operating Nuclear Plants" (NUREG/CR-7294)
• MOU between NRC and DOE on Cooperative Nuclear Safety Research Related to Light Water Reactor Sustainability (ML21124A125)