As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms industries, from healthcare and finance to law enforcement and education, questions of risk, responsibility, and trust loom large. To address these concerns, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) in January 2023 — a voluntary but powerful tool designed to help organizations develop and deploy trustworthy AI systems. While the AI RMF is not a regulatory mandate, its adoption signals a growing consensus around best practices in AI governance. It provides a flexible and principle-based structure that can be used by companies, government agencies, and developers to identify and mitigate the unique risks associated with AI technologies.
What Is the NIST AI RMF?
The AI RMF is a risk-based, socio-technical framework that guides organizations in managing the many facets of AI risk — not just technical errors or security issues, but also fairness, transparency, privacy, and societal impact. It is a voluntary guidance framework developed by the NIST to help organizations identify, assess, manage, and minimize risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The AI RMF helps organizations (1) understand and manage AI-related risks across the lifecycle; (2) build transparency, accountability, fairness, and security into AI systems; and (3) align with global AI governance trends (e.g., EU AI Act, OECD AI Principles). It is sector-agnostic and technology-neutral, meaning it can be applied to any organization building or using AI, whether in healthcare, finance, education, defense, or consumer technologies.