Fine-Grained Authorization (FGA) addresses critical security gaps in AI systems by implementing document-level permissions for RAG pipelines and AI agents. Traditional RBAC and ABAC approaches fail to scale when AI systems need contextual access control. OpenFGA, inspired by Google's Zanzibar, provides relationship-based access control that dynamically filters data based on user permissions. The implementation includes pre-filtering and post-filtering strategies with vector databases like Couchbase, ensuring AI agents only access authorized data while maintaining performance at scale.
Table of contents
The changing AI landscape – and the security gapsWhy traditional authorization falls shortFine-grained authorization – the missing layerImplementing FGA in a RAG AI pipelineExample of FGA with RAGReal world applicationsFinal thoughts: security without sacrificing speedSort: