Enhancing critical infrastructure resilience through artificial intelligence: insights from energy and transportation sectors in Romania

Abstract

Critical infrastructure is essential for sustaining the functioning and well-being of the society, while also ensuring the continuity of economic activities and public services. Its resilience has become increasingly important in the face of technological, environmental and operational risks. Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely known as a powerful tool to strengthen resilience, offering predictive analytics, anomaly detection, automation and data-driven decision-making. The growing implementation of AI in different infrastructure sectors shows its potential to improve operational efficiency, safety and continuity of important services, while considering differences specific to each sector and potential barriers such as costs, data limitations, or the need for specific personnel. This paper explores the role of AI in enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure in Romania, focusing on the energy and transportation sectors. The research is based on secondary data, using annual and sustainability reports of some major companies, as well as official information from their websites, to examine how AI is integrated into operational processes, safety systems, logistics management and risk monitoring. The results demonstrate that AI significantly improves resilience by enabling predictive maintenance, real-time risk detection, operational optimization and efficient use of the resources. In the energy sector, AI strengthens grid monitoring, fault prediction and service continuity, while in transportation it supports safety systems, fleet management and logistics, reducing risks for both passengers and goods. Although some challenges to AI adoption exist, Romanian companies are actively using AI, which shows its relevance and effectiveness in practice. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the application of AI in Romanian critical infrastructure by specifying how it supports sustainable development, improves safety and strengthens resilience. Additionally, it provides useful information that can assist managers and policymakers in making well-informed choices regarding the integration of AI into important services.