Recommendations for AI in the Nuclear Sector Developed
The Office for Nuclear Regulation of the United Kingdom (ONR), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) published a new trilateral paper “Considerations for Developing Artificial Intelligence Systems in Nuclear Applications”.
The nuclear regulatory authorities of the UK, the USA and Canada presented this document to outline main principles of implementing the artificial intelligence (AI) in the nuclear sector that have to be considered by all participants in the AI lifecycle – developers, licensees and regulators.
The document covers the following issues:
- Common areas of focus for regulators when implementing AI;
- Understanding how to manage systems based on the consequences of AI failure and the level of AI autonomy;
- The importance of human and organizational factors in the use of AI;
- Integrating AI into existing nuclear systems;
- Managing the AI lifecycle from design to deployment;
- Considerations for safety cases for AI in nuclear applications.
The use of AI will contribute to the improvement in nuclear safety, security and safeguards, in particular in the sphere of analysis of large volumes of data for better risk management and improved efficiency and performance of tasks in hazardous areas to reduce risks for employees and potentially reduce errors.