The American Bankers Association today joined the Business Software Alliance and seven associations in urging Commerce Department officials to retain the core structure of a risk management framework for artificial intelligence as the Trump administration seeks to spur AI adoption in the U.S.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework, or RMF, was released in 2023 in collaboration with the private and public sectors. The voluntary framework is intended to improve the ability to incorporate trustworthiness considerations into the design, development, use and evaluation of AI products, services and systems, according to NIST. More recently, President Trump has prioritized AI development in the U.S., with the White House last year releasing an “action plan” to remove regulatory barriers and promote investment in the technology.
In their letter, the associations said the RMF “has rapidly become the cornerstone of trustworthy AI development for several reasons.” Among other things, it provides a “common language” for all parties to use, and its voluntary, non-prescriptive approach to risk management “provides the consistency and necessary flexibility to thrive across different jurisdictions, both across the United States and around the world.”
“As the Department of Commerce prepares to make targeted modifications to the RMF to align with the administration’s AI agenda, we urge you to preserve the framework’s core structure and functions,” the associations said. “The RMF works because it is robust, flexible, voluntary and risk-based. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with NIST so the updated RMF builds on these strengths and remains a valuable tool to companies that have invested heavily in implementing it.”
