The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) launched the National AI Risk Management Framework, serving as a guiding reference that provides a unified national methodology for identifying, assessing, treating, and monitoring risks, enabling government and private entities to adopt this technology in a safe and responsible manner consistent with national priorities and directions. The launch comes amid the rapid expansion in the adoption of AI technologies in business and service development globally and locally, as their systems may pose risks that differ in nature from those of conventional technical systems, and have potential impacts on individuals, entities, and the national economy. SDAIA explained that AI risks are characterized by a different nature from traditional software risks, as they may emerge in unexpected ways during operation, system performance may change over time, and it is difficult to interpret their behavior and reproduce their results, making risk identification and assessment more complex and requiring an integrated management methodology. It pointed out that the risk management methodology is based on an integrated lifecycle comprising four interconnected stages: starting with context and scope definition, then risk identification, assessment, and treatment, leading to continuous monitoring and review, with risk level calculated via a matrix linking probability of occurrence and impact magnitude, thus unifying the assessment mechanism across entities and supporting comparison and prioritization of treatment. The authority indicated that the framework is based on seven core principles: integrity and fairness, privacy and security, humanity, reliability and safety, transparency and explainability, accountability and responsibility, and social and environmental benefits, and it classifies AI risks into seven main types to ensure comprehensiveness without overlooking any essential risk category. The framework includes an applied scenario simulating a government entity's use of a model for internal report preparation, reviewing the identification, assessment, treatment, and monitoring of associated risks, providing entities with a practical model applicable across different sectors and digital maturity stages. This framework is part of its efforts to establish responsible and safe use of AI technologies and enable national entities to adopt them, stemming from its role as the national reference for data and AI in the Kingdom, and its contribution to enhancing the digital innovation ecosystem in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. Interested parties can view the National AI Risk Management Framework via the link. < Previous PageNext Page >