Forecasting Optimization for Robust Earth Climate Analysis and Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Tracking Act of 2024

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with only subdomain 7.3 (Lack of robustness) receiving a score above 1. The document focuses on weather forecasting and Earth system modeling using AI and emerging technologies, but does not substantially address AI-specific risks, harms, or governance failures. The primary focus is on advancing AI capabilities for weather prediction rather than mitigating AI risks.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Information
• Educational Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs AI use in Scientific Research and Development Services (weather and Earth system modeling research) and Public Administration excluding National Security (NOAA operations and federal weather forecasting services). It also has implications for Educational Services through workforce development programs at institutions of higher education.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act from the United States Congress that amends existing law, establishes mandatory programs, and authorizes specific appropriations with clear legal obligations.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: This is an Act of Congress, as indicated by the legislative format and structure. The document is titled as an 'Act' and follows standard Congressional legislative formatting.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer
• Summary: The Act primarily targets NOAA and its Under Secretary to establish programs and conduct research. It also targets institutions of higher education and nonprofit entities that will receive funding and participate in workforce development programs.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Under Secretary is designated as the primary implementing authority with responsibilities to establish programs, develop plans, and submit reports. The Secretary of Commerce and OMB Director receive oversight plans.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: Congressional committees receive reports on program effectiveness. The Secretary of Commerce and OMB Director receive workforce human capital plans for oversight purposes.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Build and Use Model (development of AI/ML systems for weather forecasting), Deploy (operationalization of emerging modeling technologies), and Operate and Monitor (forecast verification and evaluation). It also addresses Plan and Design through research planning and Collect and Process Data through data assimilation activities.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• Predictive AI
• Task-specific AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI and machine learning in the context of weather and Earth system modeling. It does not use terms like 'AI models' or 'AI systems' but refers to 'weather and Earth system technologies that exploit and advance emerging computing architectures, artificial intelligence and machine learning'. There is no mention of frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, or compute thresholds. The focus is on domain-specific predictive AI for weather forecasting.