Toward a Framework for Behavioral Assurance in AI: Integrating SCAB and PRIS for Risk Mitigation

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly integrated into everyday life, influencing education, healthcare, governance, and personal decision-making. Yet, existing security and assurance frameworks, including those from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and ISO/IEC, were developed for traditional data-centric threats and remain inadequate for behavioral and cognitive risks posed by generative AI and autonomous agents. This paper introduces the SCAB Protocol (Sovereignty, Coherence, Alignment, Boundaries, Agency, Probity) and the PRIS Protocol (Psychosis Risk Interaction Score) as complementary frameworks to address these risks. SCAB establishes system-level behavioral assurance by embedding six domains of ethical and operational safeguards, while PRIS provides runtime psychosis-risk evaluation of human–AI interactions. The combined framework expands traditional information assurance toward behavioral assurance, offering a dual-layer defense against emergent harms. Drawing on parallels to information assurance models in the Internet of Things (IoT), this paper introduces the concept of Behavioral Assurance Profiles (BAPs) for sector-specific applications. Use cases are presented in education, healthcare, governance, and public safety. The findings underscore the urgency of adopting behavioral assurance as a core principle in AI governance and call for the development of standards and certification regimes akin to cybersecurity frameworks but tailored to cognitive safety.