AI Incident Management
AI incident management is the process of detecting, documenting, responding to, and preventing failures or harms caused by AI systems. Regulations such as the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, and ISO/IEC 42001 require organizations to maintain incident reporting systems, especially for high-risk AI like robotaxis, humanoid robots, medical AI, and financial systems.
Proper incident management reduces liability, strengthens trust, and provides audit-ready evidence for regulators. For compliance providers, incident documentation and reporting frameworks represent a high-value monetization opportunity.
Types of AI Incidents
| Incident Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Safety Failures | Incidents where AI endangers health or safety | Robotaxi collision, robotic surgery malfunction |
| Bias & Fairness Issues | AI produces discriminatory or unfair outcomes | Hiring algorithm rejects candidates disproportionately |
| Data Breaches | Exposure or misuse of sensitive data | Training data leak, unauthorized model access |
| Operational Failures | System outage or degraded performance | Chatbot downtime, model drift causing errors |
| Compliance Breaches | Violation of legal or regulatory obligations | No disclosure on deepfake content, GDPR violations |
Incident Management Lifecycle
AI incident management must be continuous, not ad hoc.
| Stage | Activities | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| Detection | Identify anomalies, errors, or reported harms | Alerts, incident tickets |
| Reporting | Log incident details and notify stakeholders | Incident report form, regulator notifications |
| Response | Take corrective action to contain the incident | Corrective action logs, escalation records |
| Resolution | Restore system, mitigate impact, update documentation | Resolution plan, updated risk register |
| Prevention | Update processes and training to avoid recurrence | Lessons-learned reports, updated protocols |
Cross-Sector Examples
| Sector | Incident Example | Regulatory Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | AI misdiagnosis leads to delayed treatment | FDA, MDR (EU) |
| Finance | Unexplained denial of loans due to model bias | Fair lending laws, SEC |
| Mobility & Transport | Robotaxi fails to respond to emergency vehicles | EU AI Act, DOT, UNECE |
| Employment & HR | AI screening excludes candidates with certain accents | EEOC, NYC bias audit laws |