AIPL-05

Do you have documented technical and procedural processes to address potential negative impacts of AI as described by the AI Risk Management Framework (RMF)?

Explanation

This question is asking whether your organization has formal, documented processes to identify, assess, and mitigate potential negative impacts or harms that could arise from your AI systems. The NIST AI Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a voluntary framework published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology that provides guidance on managing risks in the design, development, use, and evaluation of AI systems. The question is being asked in a security assessment because AI systems can introduce unique risks beyond traditional software, including bias, discrimination, privacy violations, safety issues, and security vulnerabilities. Organizations developing or deploying AI are increasingly expected to demonstrate responsible AI practices that proactively address these risks. Page 25 of the NIST AI RMF specifically discusses harm reduction and the need for organizations to have processes that identify potential negative impacts, implement controls to mitigate them, and continuously monitor AI systems for emerging risks. To best answer this question, you should: 1. Describe your documented processes for identifying AI risks 2. Explain how you assess and prioritize these risks 3. Detail your mitigation strategies and controls 4. Mention how you monitor and respond to emerging risks 5. Reference specific alignment with the NIST AI RMF if applicable If you don't have formal processes specifically aligned with the NIST AI RMF, be honest but describe any alternative frameworks or approaches you use for responsible AI development.

Guidance

Looking for harm reduction as part of responsible AI development per NIST AI RMF, page 25.

Example Responses

Example Response 1

Yes, our organization has comprehensive technical and procedural processes aligned with the NIST AI RMF to address potential negative impacts of AI We maintain a formal AI Risk Management Policy that requires all AI systems to undergo a structured risk assessment before deployment This assessment includes evaluating risks across the categories identified in the NIST AI RMF: technical (reliability, robustness, security), socio-technical (fairness, privacy, transparency), and broader societal impacts Our process includes: (1) Initial risk identification using our AI Risk Register template; (2) Impact assessment using both quantitative and qualitative methods; (3) Implementation of appropriate controls based on risk level; and (4) Continuous monitoring through our AI Governance Committee that meets monthly We have documented procedures for testing AI systems for bias, conducting adversarial testing, and implementing explainability requirements proportional to risk All of these processes are documented in our AI Development Lifecycle guide, which is reviewed and updated annually.

Example Response 2

Yes, we have implemented technical and procedural processes aligned with the NIST AI RMF's governance functions Our AI Ethics Committee oversees our Responsible AI Program, which includes documented processes for: (1) Conducting algorithmic impact assessments before any AI system development begins; (2) Regular bias audits during development using our proprietary testing suite; (3) Privacy-by-design requirements including data minimization and purpose limitation; (4) Mandatory human oversight for high-risk AI decisions; and (5) Post-deployment monitoring with defined thresholds for model drift and performance degradation These processes are integrated into our existing software development lifecycle and documented in our AI Development Standard Operating Procedures We maintain a risk register specifically for AI systems that tracks identified risks, mitigation strategies, and verification activities Our technical teams receive quarterly training on responsible AI development practices, and we conduct annual third-party audits of our highest-risk AI systems to validate our internal assessments.

Example Response 3

No, we currently do not have documented technical and procedural processes specifically aligned with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to address potential negative impacts of AI While we do follow general software development security practices and conduct standard risk assessments for our applications, we have not yet developed AI-specific risk management procedures We recognize this as a gap in our current security program We are in the early stages of developing an AI governance framework and plan to incorporate NIST AI RMF guidance in the next 6-9 months In the interim, we are taking a conservative approach to AI deployment by limiting use cases to lower-risk applications, implementing human review of all AI outputs, and conducting regular reviews of AI performance We welcome recommendations on prioritizing specific elements of the NIST AI RMF as we build out our formal processes.

Context

Tab: AI
Category: AI Policy