[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34899-34900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11245]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2022-0095]


NUREG: Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-
2027

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final report; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing NUREG-
2261, ``Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-
2027,'' dated May 31, 2023. The NRC's Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
Strategic Plan, establishes the vision and goals for the NRC to 
continue to improve its skills and capabilities to review and evaluate 
the application of AI to NRC-regulated activities, maintain awareness 
of technological innovations, and ensure the safe and secure use of AI 
in NRC-regulated activities. The AI Strategic Plan includes five goals: 
(1) ensure NRC readiness for regulatory decision-making, (2) establish 
an organizational framework to review AI applications, (3) strengthen 
and expand AI partnerships, (4) cultivate an AI proficient workforce, 
and (5) pursue use cases to build an AI foundation across the NRC.

DATES: This document was published in the Federal Register on May 31, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0095 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:

[[Page 34900]]

     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0095. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), 
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an 
email to [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, 
between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Dennis, telephone: 301-415-
3702; email: [email protected] and Luis Betancourt, telephone: 
301-415-6146; email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion

    The purpose of NUREG-2261, ``Artificial Intelligence Strategic 
Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-2027,'' is to ensure the NRC's readiness to 
review and evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in NRC-
regulated activities. NUREG-2261, ``Artificial Intelligence Strategic 
Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-2027,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession 
No. ML23132A305. To better understand activities and plans for AI 
across the nuclear industry, the staff hosted the 2021 Data Science and 
AI Regulatory Applications Public Workshops and issued a Federal 
Register notice on July 5, 2022, to solicit feedback on the draft AI 
Strategic Plan (87 FR 39874). Information about and presentations from 
the workshops can be found on the NRC public website at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conference-symposia/data-science-ai-reg-workshops.html. These activities informed the development of the AI 
Strategic Plan. The NRC anticipates that the nuclear industry may begin 
deploying AI in NRC-regulated activities in the near future.
    The AI Strategic Plan considers machine learning, natural language 
processing, and deep learning to be subsets of AI. In practice, the 
term AI describes various activities that range from data collection 
and analyses to support human decisionmaking to fully autonomous 
systems. The AI Strategic Plan adds to regulatory certainty by 
augmenting NRC readiness to review the use of AI in NRC-regulated 
activities.
    The AI Strategic Plan establishes five goals to ensure the agency's 
readiness to review the use of AI in NRC-regulated activities. The five 
strategic goals are: (1) ensure NRC readiness for regulatory decision-
making, (2) establish an organizational framework to review AI 
applications, (3) strengthen and expand AI partnerships, (4) cultivate 
an AI proficient workforce, and (5) pursue use cases to build an AI 
foundation across the NRC.

II. Public Comment Analysis

    The NRC draft AI Strategic Plan for FY 2023-2027 was published in 
the Federal Register for public comment on July 5, 2022 (87 FR 39874) 
and the comment period closed on August 19, 2022. The NRC staff held a 
transcribed comment-gathering public meeting on August 3, 2022, to 
receive additional comments on the draft AI Strategic Plan. In addition 
to the comments received during the public meeting, the NRC received 
seven comment submissions in response to the Federal Register notice. 
In total, the NRC staff identified and responded to 105 individual 
comments received from individual members of the public and various 
organizations. The NRC responses to these comments are available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML23037A840.

    Dated: May 22, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Raymond V. Furstenau,
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2023-11245 Filed 5-30-23; 8:45 am]
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