The U.S. federal government has introduced a new framework aimed at prioritizing emerging technologies for Federal Risk Authorization Management Program approval, paving the way for federal agencies to embrace new and advanced technological solutions that promise enhanced security and efficiency in their operations.

According to a recent blog post on the FedRAMP website, the framework focuses on identifying the most critical cloud-relevant emerging technologies required for implementation by federal agencies. The post emphasizes that not all emerging technologies will be prioritized initially, with a specific focus on three generative AI capabilities: chat interfaces, code generation and debugging tools, and prompt-based image generators.

The framework is designed to be dynamic and will be regularly updated to reflect the evolving landscape of emerging technologies. In the future, it will also prioritize a fourth capability target of general-purpose API offerings that support the integration of the initial three generative AI capabilities into federal systems.

One of the key benefits of this prioritization system is that it enables cloud service providers to expedite the authorization review process, reducing the overall wait times for approval. This streamlined approach is expected to make it easier for providers to access the emerging technology track and a new governance process will define how the listed capabilities are prioritized for “skip the line” access.

Under this new framework, up to 12 cloud service offerings with AI-based capabilities are anticipated to be prioritized, including three that incorporate each of the three generative AI capabilities outlined in an executive order on the safe and secure development and use of AI.

The executive order assigns FedRAMP the responsibility of prioritizing specific emerging technologies to facilitate the rapid adoption of new innovations by agencies while upholding rigorous standards for federal use. The initial prioritizations will include up to three cloud service offerings with API-based services that implement any of the three initial generative AI capabilities highlighted in the order.

According to the blog post, agencies and industry stakeholders will have the opportunity to submit ideas for additional capabilities to be considered for future authorizations. These emerging technology capabilities may fall within a single category such as generative AI or span multiple categories.

Cloud service providers under this framework will be mandated to collaborate with their authorizing official and undergo a “significant change request” process to incorporate new emerging technology offerings into their authorization.

Overall, the new framework introduced by FedRAMP is poised to revolutionize the way federal agencies adopt and integrate emerging technologies, paving the way for a more secure, efficient, and technologically advanced government infrastructure.

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