The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is looking for feedback on its fiscal years (FY) 2023 to 2027 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategic Plan, and the strategic goals that the plan sets forth, to ensure the agency’s readiness to use AI in NRC-regulated activities.
The agency currently does not have AI technologies in place, but with the rapid growth of AI technological maturity, the NRC said it “anticipates increased use of AI in NRC-regulated activities.”
The agency said it considers machine learning, natural language processing, robotic process automation, and deep learning to be subsets of AI.
“The purpose of the AI Strategic Plan is to ensure the NRC’s readiness to review and evaluate the use of AI in NRC-regulated activities,” the agency said. “The NRC began actively coordinating across the agency and nuclear industry to better understand activities and plans for the use of AI in FY 2021.”
The draft AI Strategic Plan sets five goals for the NRC to ensure AI-readiness. The five strategic goals include: ensuring NRC readiness for regulatory decision-making; establishing an organizational framework to review AI applications; strengthening and expanding AI partnerships; cultivating an AI-proficient workforce; and pursuing use cases to build an AI foundation across the agency.
The NRC is looking for feedback on these goals – and the 40-page strategic plan – in order to refine the draft plan. The agency is especially interested in specific plan improvements, new goals, and potential challenges of using AI in nuclear operations.
The agency will hold a virtual public meeting on August 3 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to receive comments on the draft AI Strategic Plan. Stakeholders and interested parties must submit comments by August 19.
