Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023, Sec. 304 ("Data Assimilation, Management, and Sharing Practices")

• 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

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with only brief mentions of AI/ML in the context of data assimilation methods. No specific AI risks or harms are addressed. The document focuses on data management infrastructure and practices rather than AI governance or risk mitigation.

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
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs the Public Administration sector (specifically NOAA and federal weather services) and the Scientific Research and Development Services sector through the establishment of a university consortium for data assimilation research. It also has implications for the Information sector through data infrastructure and sharing provisions.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute enacted by the United States Congress with mandatory obligations on the Under Secretary and NOAA, using mandatory language throughout and establishing legally enforceable requirements.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: This is a Congressional act (Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2023) proposed and enacted by the United States Congress as federal legislation.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer
• Entities: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Under Secretary; weather enterprise members; institutions of higher education; Data Assimilation University Consortium
• Summary: The document primarily targets NOAA and the Under Secretary with obligations to establish data standards, infrastructure, and programs. It also targets the weather enterprise (including commercial data providers and academic institutions) through data sharing provisions and the establishment of a university consortium for data assimilation research.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Under Secretary
• Summary: As federal legislation, enforcement authority rests with Congress through appropriations control and oversight. The Under Secretary and NOAA have operational responsibility for implementing and ensuring compliance with the statutory requirements.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Under Secretary; National Centers for Environmental Information; Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation; non-Federal entity (for study)
• Summary: The document establishes monitoring responsibilities through NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information for data archival, coordination with the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation, and mandates a study by a non-Federal entity to assess data management practices.

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 primarily addresses the Build and Use Model stage through its focus on data assimilation methods including AI and machine learning. It also covers Operate and Monitor through provisions for data infrastructure, long-term data management, and ongoing data sharing practices. The Plan and Design stage is implicitly covered through the establishment of data standards and the mandated study on data management needs.

Technical Scope

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

• Predictive AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI and machine learning in the context of data assimilation methods. It does not specifically mention AI models or AI systems as defined terms, nor does it reference frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, generative AI, or compute thresholds. The focus is on AI/ML as methodological tools for data processing rather than as standalone systems requiring governance.