Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023, Sec. 108 ("Computing Resources Prioritization")

• 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.

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Competitive dynamics

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal risk domain coverage, with only subdomain 6.4 (Competitive dynamics) receiving a score of 2. The document primarily focuses on computing infrastructure and AI/ML implementation for weather forecasting rather than AI risk mitigation. Most risk subdomains are not mentioned.

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 Public Administration (specifically NOAA weather forecasting operations) and Scientific Research and Development Services (through research initiatives and centers of excellence). It also has minimal coverage of Information sector through computing infrastructure.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute amending the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, enacted by the United States Congress with mandatory obligations and legal enforceability.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: This is a Congressional act amending existing federal law, indicating Congress as the proposing authority.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Entities: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Department of Energy; Federal agencies; National Laboratories; institutions of higher education; nonprofit institutions
• Summary: The document primarily targets NOAA (through the Under Secretary) with obligations to leverage AI/ML and establish computing initiatives. It also targets potential applicants for competitive grants including Federal agencies, National Laboratories, higher education institutions, and nonprofits.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives; Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate
• Summary: Congressional committees are designated as recipients of mandatory reports, providing oversight and enforcement through Congressional authority.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives; Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; National Science and Technology Council; Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services
• Summary: Congressional committees monitor through mandatory reporting requirements. Interagency coordinating bodies are referenced for coordination of research efforts.

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, Deploy, and Operate and Monitor stages. It addresses AI/ML model development, deployment of computing infrastructure, and ongoing monitoring through reporting requirements.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Models
• AI Systems
• Open Weight / Open Source
• Predictive AI
• Task-specific AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI systems, machine learning, and various computing technologies. It focuses on leveraging AI/ML for weather forecasting missions but does not define or distinguish between frontier AI, general purpose AI, or task-specific AI. No compute thresholds are specified.