What’s Covered?
The Roles and Responsibilities Framework for Artificial Intelligence in Critical Infrastructure is DHS’s attempt to bring structure to a sprawling and fast-moving issue: how to safely deploy AI systems across the 16 sectors that keep the U.S. running—from energy grids to water treatment, hospitals, and digital networks.
The framework is grounded in collaboration with the AI Safety and Security Board, which includes top voices from industry (NVIDIA, Microsoft, OpenAI), civil rights (Leadership Conference, CDT), government, and academia.
It breaks the AI ecosystem into five key groups:
- Cloud and compute infrastructure providers
- AI developers
- Critical infrastructure owners and operators
- Civil society
- Public sector
Each group is mapped across five responsibility areas:
- Securing AI development and deployment environments
- Driving responsible system and model design
- Implementing sound data governance
- Ensuring safe, secure, and tested deployment
- Monitoring impact and sharing performance insights
For each, the framework offers actionable guidance. Examples:
- Cloud providers are encouraged to enable model provenance tools and abuse reporting
- Developers are urged to pre-train models with resilience in mind and engage red teams
- Operators must test for system resilience in real-world scenarios and retain override authority
- Civil society should flag harms, amplify worker protections, and audit AI rights violations
- Government is tasked with interagency coordination, procurement alignment, and incident response
💡 Why it matters?
This is the most targeted federal AI governance document addressing critical infrastructure risk. It moves beyond voluntary commitments and starts to assign responsibility—without waiting for full legislative clarity. It also sets the stage for international alignment, emphasizing the need for harmonized global infrastructure protections.
What’s Missing?
The framework is comprehensive—but it’s still voluntary. There are no binding standards, and enforcement is left to sector-specific discretion. Also, there’s little discussion about tradeoffs between public interest and commercial secrecy (e.g. compute transparency vs IP). While civil society is listed as a key actor, mechanisms for accountability (especially bottom-up ones like whistleblower protection or public oversight) aren’t fully developed. Finally, the document doesn’t tackle frontier AI risks in high-level autonomy or misuse of dual-use models—despite several board members developing them.
Best For:
This is gold for CISOs, risk managers, and compliance leads at any company in or near a critical infrastructure sector. It’s also useful for state and local officials figuring out what federal guidance to follow. NGOs and rights groups looking to map responsibilities or push for stronger guardrails will find it handy too.
Source Details:
Title: Roles and Responsibilities Framework for Artificial Intelligence in Critical Infrastructure
Published by: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Date: November 14, 2024
Authors: In consultation with the AI Safety and Security Board
Context: This is DHS’s flagship AI guidance for critical infrastructure, developed alongside top industry and civil society leaders. It’s designed to translate high-level commitments—like EO 14110—into practical responsibilities across the AI supply and deployment chain. The document emphasizes national resilience and international cooperation, offering a “whole-of-nation” model.
