Feds launch new task force to advance AI safety and bolster national security

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is announcing a new artificial intelligence (AI) readiness task force that will prepare the nation for new, rapidly evolving AI technology. 

The Testing Risks of AI for National Security (TRAINS) task force will be helmed by NIST’s Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, a federal consortium of higher education institutions along withstate, federal and local agencies and other AI stakeholders. 

Members will bring unique, specialized expertise to the task force and help further its mission – conducting coordinated research and testing of AI models to inform national security initiatives and AI safety for the public.  

The forward-looking initiative aligns with other federal efforts to maintain the nation’s technological edge in AI and AI safety, seeking to strengthen national leadership in AI innovation and prevent hostile nations from exploiting AI inventions. 

The TRAINS taskforce will consist of the following agencies and sub agencies: 

The Department of Energy 

Argonne National Laboratory 

Brookhaven National Laboratory 

Idaho National Laboratory 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

Sandia National Laboratory 

Savannah River National Laboratory

The Department of Defense

Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office 

National Security Agency 

The Department of Homeland Security 

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 

The Department of Health and Human Services 

The National Institutes of Health 

Together, these agencies will collaborate to develop new AI evaluation methods and benchmarks, conduct joint national security risk assessments and engage in red-teaming exercises to better understand AI’s potential threats. Guided by the recently-approved National Security Memorandum on AI, TRAINS is anticipated to expand its agency across the federal government as AI technology’s research, development and implementation continue. 

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