The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Tool re-release Test the possibility that artificial intelligence (AI) models can be “contaminated” by malicious data.
The move comes as President Biden Presidential Decree This is about the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI, and directly responds to the order’s requirement for NIST to assist with model testing. NIST also recently launched a program to help Americans use AI without falling prey to synthetic or AI-generated content and to advance AI development for the benefit of society.
This tool Dioptrawas first released two years ago and is aimed at helping small businesses and government agencies. The tool allows you to determine what attacks can degrade the performance of your AI models, quantify the performance degradation, and see the conditions under which your models fail.
Also: Beware of AI “model collapse”: How training with synthetic data is poisoning the next generation
Why is this important?
It’s critical that organizations take steps to ensure their AI programs are secure. NIST actively encourages federal agencies to leverage AI in a variety of systems. Because AI models are trained on existing data, NIST notes that if someone intentionally inserts malicious data (for example, data that causes an AI to ignore stop signs or speed limits), the results could be disastrous.
Despite the transformative benefits that AI offers, NIST Director Laurie E. LoCascio said the technology carries far greater risks than those associated with other types of software. “These guidance documents and testing platforms will inform software creators about these inherent risks and help them develop ways to mitigate those risks while supporting innovation,” she said in the release.
Safety guidelines also provide a necessary first layer of data protection in the AI gold rush
NIST says Dioptra can test multiple combinations of attacks, defenses and model architectures to better understand which attacks may pose the greatest threat and what solutions are best.
The tool doesn’t promise to remove all risk, but it claims to help mitigate it while supporting innovation. Downloadable For free.
