NIST Teams Up with Bio Research Nonprofit to Create Cutting-Edge AI Defense Capabilities

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed an agreement with the non-profit Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) to develop tools to protect against the misuse of AI.

NIST entered a two-year cooperative research agreement to construct safety measures against AI-driven nucleic acid synthesis, a field in synthetic biology harboring both promise and peril.

This collaboration, prompted by a task in the recent Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, mandates NIST, among other agencies, to establish standards, best practices, and implementation guidelines for nucleic acid synthesis in light of AI advancements.

The Executive Order mandates NIST to spearhead efforts to collaborate with industry and stakeholders in devising safeguards against potential AI misuse in genetic material synthesis. NIST, in partnership with EBRC, will discern optimal practices and policies to ensure public safety.

“This agreement is the first step toward promoting safe research in engineering biology as tasked to NIST under the recent AI executive order. The promise of this technology is immense, but clearly, safeguards are needed to protect the public, and this is an important first step toward creating them,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio.