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RAND's research on Hardware-Enabled Governance Mechanisms
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: RAND Corporation
A RAND working paper relevant to those studying compute governance and technical mechanisms for AI oversight; part of growing literature on using hardware infrastructure as an AI safety and policy enforcement tool.
Metadata
Importance: 68/100working paperanalysis
Summary
This RAND working paper examines hardware-enabled governance mechanisms (HEGMs) as a technical approach to AI oversight, exploring how compute hardware can be leveraged to enforce compliance with AI safety and governance policies at a foundational level. It analyzes how features embedded in AI chips and infrastructure could enable monitoring, access controls, and enforcement of regulatory requirements. The paper contributes to the emerging field of using physical compute infrastructure as a governance lever.
Key Points
- •Explores how AI hardware (chips, data centers) can be designed or modified to enforce governance policies and safety requirements
- •Analyzes mechanisms such as usage monitoring, kill switches, and cryptographic attestation built into compute hardware
- •Discusses how HEGMs could support international AI governance regimes by providing verifiable compliance mechanisms
- •Examines tradeoffs between security, privacy, and effectiveness of hardware-based enforcement approaches
- •Situates hardware governance within broader policy frameworks for managing advanced AI development and deployment
Cited by 3 pages
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware-Enabled Governance | Approach | 70.0 |
| Hardware Mechanisms for International AI Agreements | Analysis | -- |
| Compute Monitoring | Approach | 69.0 |
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# Hardware-Enabled Governance Mechanisms
Developing Technical Solutions to Exempt Items Otherwise Classified Under Export Control Classification Numbers 3A090 and 4A090
[Gabriel Kulp](https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/k/kulp_gabriel.html), [Daniel Gonzales](https://www.rand.org/about/people/g/gonzales_daniel.html), [Everett Smith](https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/s/smith_everett.html), [Lennart Heim](https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/h/heim_lennart.html), [Prateek Puri](https://www.rand.org/about/people/p/puri_prateek.html), [Michael J. D. Vermeer](https://www.rand.org/about/people/v/vermeer_michael_j_d.html), [Zev Winkelman](https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/w/winkelman_zev.html)
Published Jan 18, 2024
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The authors introduce the concept of hardware-enabled governance mechanisms (HEMs), which have the potential to help achieve U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) governance goals. They explore the export control–related policy objectives that HEMs can support, analyze the threats that HEMs might face, examine the attack vectors that might compromise them, and describe protection measures that could be taken to counter those attacks.
## Topics
- [Artificial Intelligence](https://www.rand.org/topics/artificial-intelligence.html)
- [Cybersecurity](https://www.rand.org/topics/cybersecurity.html)
- [Threat Assessment](https://www.rand.org/topics/threat-assessment.html)
## Document Details
- **Copyright:** RAND Corporation
- **Availability:** Web-Only
- **Year:** 2024
- **Pages:** 81
- **DOI:** [https://doi.org/10.7249/WRA3056-1](https://doi.org/10.7249/WRA3056-1)
- **Document Number:** WR-
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