Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act, Section 14 ("National Weather Service hydrologic research fellowship program")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2022-12-27

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 risk domain coverage, with only implicit mention of AI system safety considerations through research priorities. The document primarily establishes a fellowship program structure rather than addressing AI risks directly.

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.

• Educational Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs the Scientific Research and Development Services sector through establishment of a hydrologic research fellowship program. It also has implications for Public Administration (excluding National Security) as it involves federal agencies including NOAA, USGS, FEMA, and Army Corps of Engineers in developing research priorities and placing fellows.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a Congressional statute establishing a federal fellowship program with binding obligations on the Administrator of NOAA, including mandatory establishment of the program, development of research priorities, and direct hiring authority for federal agencies.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a Congressional statute (Section 14 of the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act), indicating it was proposed and enacted by the United States Congress.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, Affected_Stakeholder
• Entities: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Assistant Administrator for Weather Services; qualified individuals (fellowship applicants); institutions of higher education; historically Black colleges and universities; minority-serving institutions
• Summary: The statute targets NOAA and its Assistant Administrator with obligations to establish and manage the fellowship program. It also targets qualified individuals who are eligible to apply for fellowships, and institutions of higher education where these individuals are enrolled.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Assistant Administrator for Weather Services; Office of Personnel Management; heads of Federal agencies
• Summary: The Assistant Administrator of NOAA is responsible for establishing fellowship guidelines, selecting participants, and developing research priorities. The Office of Personnel Management establishes qualification standards, and federal agency heads have authority to exercise direct hiring provisions.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Assistant Administrator for Weather Services; NOAA line offices; United States Geological Survey; Federal Emergency Management Agency; Army Corps of Engineers
• Summary: The Assistant Administrator develops research priorities in consultation with multiple federal agencies, suggesting a collaborative monitoring and oversight structure for the fellowship program's research activities.

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

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document addresses AI research and development through a fellowship program focused on applying AI and machine learning to hydrologic modeling. It primarily covers the Plan and Design stage by establishing research priorities, and the Build and Use Model stage through the application of AI/ML capabilities to advance modeling systems.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Models
• AI Systems
• Predictive AI
• Task-specific AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions artificial intelligence and machine learning in the context of hydrologic modeling research priorities. It does not define or distinguish between different types of AI systems, models, or specify compute thresholds. The focus is on applying AI/ML capabilities to advance existing modeling systems.