ICAIRE Ethical AI Series
Risk-Based AI Assurance in the Saudi Public Sector
Aligning International Assurance Practices with the National AI Risk Management Framework
Nawaf Alsahmah, Ph.D.
Independent Researcher
Published October 2026
Abstract
Saudi Arabia has established a national foundation for managing artificial intelligence (AI) risk through the National AI Risk Management Framework, issued by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in 2026. The framework structures risk management around context and scope, risk identification, risk assessment, risk treatment, and monitoring and review. The policy challenge addressed in this paper is therefore not the absence of AI risk governance, but how outputs from this established process can be connected to a distinct assurance process that supports justified confidence that applicable requirements have been satisfied.
About the authors
Nawaf Alsahmah, Ph.D.
Independent researcher working on AI assurance and risk governance in the public sector.
Cite this research
Alsahmah, N. (2026). Risk-based AI assurance in the Saudi public sector: Aligning international assurance practices with the National AI Risk Management Framework (ICAIRE Framework Paper). International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics. https://doi.org/10.68480/CEYS4608
BibTeX
@techreport{alsahmah2026assurance, title = {Risk-Based AI Assurance in the Saudi Public Sector: Aligning International Assurance Practices with the National AI Risk Management Framework}, author = {Alsahmah, Nawaf}, institution = {International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics}, type = {ICAIRE Framework Paper}, number = {ICAIRE-EAI-2026-005}, year = {2026}, month = oct, doi = {10.68480/CEYS4608}, url = {https://doi.org/10.68480/CEYS4608}}