English

Resilience Meets Autonomy: Governing Embodied AI in Critical Infrastructure

Artificial Intelligence 2026-03-18 v1 Robotics

Abstract

Critical infrastructure increasingly incorporates embodied AI for monitoring, predictive maintenance, and decision support. However, AI systems designed to handle statistically representable uncertainty struggle with cascading failures and crisis dynamics that exceed their training assumptions. This paper argues that Embodied AIs resilience depends on bounded autonomy within a hybrid governance architecture. We outline four oversight modes and map them to critical infrastructure sectors based on task complexity, risk level, and consequence severity. Drawing on the EU AI Act, ISO safety standards, and crisis management research, we argue that effective governance requires a structured allocation of machine capability and human judgement.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.15885,
  title  = {Resilience Meets Autonomy: Governing Embodied AI in Critical Infrastructure},
  author = {Puneet Sharma and Christer Henrik Pursiainen},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.15885},
  year   = {2026}
}

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6 pages