GRAIL joins new Department of Commerce consortium dedicated to AI safety
GRAIL will be one of more than 200 leading AI stakeholders to help advance development and deployment of safe, trustworthy AI under new U.S. government AI Safety Institute.
Yesterday, the Governance and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (GRAIL) of Purdue University joined more than 200 of the nation’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) organizations as key stakeholders in a newly-announced Department of Commerce initiative to support the development and deployment of trustworthy and safe AI. Established by the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC) will bring together AI creators, academics, government and industry experts, and civil society organizations to meet this mission.
"NIST has been tasked with addressing amongst the most important and challenging dilemmas in AI governance, and as such plays a critical role in the US and global AI trajectory,” said Daniel Schiff, Co-Director of GRAIL at Purdue University. “At GRAIL, the Governance and Responsible AI Lab at Purdue University, we've been impressed by how the NIST team has worked thoughtfully on prior AI efforts like the AI Risk Management Framework, and we believe NIST is the right party to lead this charge. They have centered open collaboration, promoted a sociotechnical and holistic approach to understanding AI, and endeavored to balance specificity and flexibility in light of real-world needs and implementation demands. GRAIL is pleased to support AISIC as NIST and its partners continue to work towards responsible and beneficial innovation. We look forward to learning from and contributing to this effort."
GRAIL focuses on collaborative and interdisciplinary research on AI policy, ethics, and governance. Started in 2022 within the College of Liberal Arts by Daniel Schiff and Co-Director Professor Kaylyn Jackson Schiff, also in Political Science, GRAIL is filling a gap in academic research that persists in this evolving technological landscape. Since its founding, the lab has seen a growing demand for its research and insights on and off campus as society grapples with how generative AI is changing the way people work, learn, and navigate society. The lab currently brings together over 40 faculty, students, and affiliates from six universities who share knowledge in a variety of fields like political science, philosophy, criminology, linguistics, sociology, computer science, and engineering.
“I’ve been really impressed by the initiative taken by Purdue and the College of Liberal Arts toward creative, meaningful approaches to advance AI scholarship and impact,” said Daniel Schiff, who is on the Steering Committee of Purdue’s new Institute for Physical AI (IPAI). “It’s essential to have our educators, researchers, and innovators think carefully and inclusively about the ethical practices, standards, and, increasingly, policies needed to advance AI responsibly. There has been significant vision here at Purdue to take these topics seriously, and we’re honored to help GRAIL’s researchers and students positively shape U.S. AI policy and practice through our new partnership with NIST.”
The consortium GRAIL has been invited to join includes more than 200 member companies and organizations that are on the frontlines of developing and using AI systems, as well as the civil society and academic teams that are building the foundational understanding of how AI can and will transform our society. These entities represent the nation’s largest companies and most innovative startups; creators of the world’s most advanced AI systems and hardware; key members of civil society and the academic community; and representatives of professions with deep engagement in AI’s use today. The consortium also includes state and local governments, as well as non-profits, and will work with organizations from like-minded nations that have a key role to play in setting interoperable and effective regulations and standards around the world.
“The U.S. government has a significant role to play in setting the standards and developing the tools we need to mitigate the risks and harness the immense potential of artificial intelligence,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo this Wednesday. “… we will ensure America is at the front of the pack – and by working with this group of leaders from industry, civil society, and academia, together we can confront these challenges to develop the measurements and standards we need to maintain America’s competitive edge and develop AI responsibly.”
The full list of consortium participants is available here.
Banner and thumbnail image created using DALL-E, digital art interpretation of “researchers studying how to govern artificial intelligence.”