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Decommissioning

By Updated

The planned retirement of an AI system: dependency analysis, fallback and transition, sunset notices, a final evidence snapshot, archive or disposal of weights and data, revocation of every identity, and a registry entry marked retired rather than deleted. NIST asks that systems be phased out safely 1.

Developed in
ch. 15, Retirement and decommissioning
ch. 05, Pattern: Deactivation, Localisation & Retirement Runbook
Chapters
ch. 05, Patterns · ch. 15, Deployment
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

5 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Decommissioning: mentions per chapter13 mentions of the term across 5 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Other chapterCross-referenced, not named05 Patterns008 Regulatory Map: 5 mentions08 Regulatory Map510 Reading List: 1 mention10 Reading List112 Governance Program: 1 mention12 Governance Program115 Deployment022 Principles & Standards: 3 mentions22 Principles & Standards323 AI Agents: 3 mentions23 AI Agents3No mentions in the other 16 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Decommissioning: mentions per chapter13 mentions of the term across 5 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Other chapterCross-referenced, not named000102030405060708 Regulatory Map: 5 mentions50810 Reading List: 1 mention1101112 Governance Program: 1 mention11213141516171819202122 Principles & Standards: 3 mentions32223 AI Agents: 3 mentions323Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Decommissioning per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now0No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack0No
05 Patterns0Yes
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model0No
08 Regulatory Map5No
10 Reading List1No
11 AI Defined0No
12 Governance Program1No
13 Risk Management0No
14 Development0No
15 Deployment0Yes
16 Fairness & XAI0No
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act0No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law0No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards3No
23 AI Agents3No

Patterns that use this term

One pattern page uses the term.

Decommissioning: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedColour: stack layer of the pattern04 Runtime ControlsDecommissioningRelated terms (3)AI system · RelatedAI systemGraduated degradation · RelatedGraduated degradationLocalisation (by jurisdiction) · RelatedLocalisation (by jurisdiction)Patterns using it (1)Deactivation, Localisation & Retirement Runbook, 2 mentions · Uses the termDeactivation
Decommissioning: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedColour: stack layer of the pattern04 Runtime ControlsRelated terms (3)AI system · RelatedAI systemGraduated degradation · RelatedGraduated degradationLocalisation (by jurisdiction) · RelatedLocalisation (by jurisdiction)Patterns using it (1)Deactivation, Localisation & Retirement Runbook, 2 mentions · Uses the termDeactivationDecommissioning
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Decommissioning
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsAI systemRelated
Related termsGraduated degradationRelated
Related termsLocalisation (by jurisdiction)Related
Patterns using itDeactivation, Localisation & Retirement Runbook, 2 mentionsUses the term
  • Graduated degradation

    Pre-built, tested operating modes short of switching an AI system off: advice-only, raised confidence thresholds, grounded-only answers, disabling for one…

  • Localisation (by jurisdiction)

    Controlling where an AI system runs and which features it offers in each jurisdiction, with per-jurisdiction rule sets as code, regional instances where…

  • AI system

    For governance, the object the AI definition brings into scope.

Sources

  1. [1] NIST AI RMF Playbook, GOVERN (per subcategory: About, Suggested Actions, Transparency and Documentation, References; GOVERN 1.7 decommissioning and phasing out safely). NIST Trustworthy and Responsible AI Resource Center. 2026. https://airc.nist.gov/airmf-resources/playbook/govern/ (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Decommissioning. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/decommissioning. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026decommissioning,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Decommissioning}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/decommissioning}
}