NIST Invites Partners in New AI Safety Consortium

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is inviting participants to collaborate in a new consortium for the development of innovative solutions for artificial intelligence safety and trustworthiness. 

The technological alliance is a central element of the U.S. AI Safety Institute, which Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo unveiled at the AI Safety Summit 2023 in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. The institute and its consortium’s creation implements President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI released on Oct. 30, the NIST said. 

The executive order also tasks the NIST to develop a resource complementing the AI Risk Management Framework, focusing on such areas as generative AI, content authentication guidance and AI system test environments.

The NIST said it will depend heavily on industry and relevant stakeholders to carry out the tasks mandated in the executive order, making the institute and its consortium a key to their implementation. 

The close partnership in the USAIS consortium among government agencies, companies and other AI stakeholders can develop ways to test and evaluate AI systems to help ensure a safe and trustworthy technology, NIST Director Laurie Locascio said.