Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce, through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will establish the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (USAISI) to lead the U.S. government’s efforts on AI safety and trust, particularly for evaluating the most advanced AI models. USAISI will support the responsibilities assigned to the Department of Commerce under the historic executive order that President Biden signed earlier this week.

Specifically, USAISI will facilitate the development of standards for safety, security, and testing of AI models, develop standards for authenticating AI-generated content, and provide testing environments for researchers to evaluate emerging AI risks and address known impacts. USAISI, led by NIST, will leverage outside expertise, including working with partners in academia, industry, government, and civil society to advance AI safety. In addition, USAISI will work with similar institutes in ally and partner nations, including with the UK’s AI Safety Institute, to align and coordinate work in this sphere. Today’s announcement coincides with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s participation in the AI Safety Summit 2023 in the UK with Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Through the establishment of the U.S. AI Safety Institute, we at the Department of Commerce will build on NIST’s long history of developing standards to inform domestic and international technological progress for the common good,” said Secretary Gina Raimondo. “As President Biden takes swift action to ensure the U.S. is a global leader on innovative, safe, and responsible AI, the Department of Commerce is eager to play its part. Together, in coordination with federal agencies across government and in lockstep with our international partners and allies, we will work to fulfill the President’s vision to manage the risks and harness the benefits of AI.”

“I am thrilled that NIST is taking on this critical role for the United States that will expand on our wide-ranging efforts in AI. The U.S. AI Safety Institute will harness talent and expertise from NIST and the broader AI community to build the foundation for trustworthy AI systems,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio. “It will bring industry, civil society and government agencies together to work on managing the risks of AI systems and to build guidelines, tools, and test environments for AI safety and trust.” 

In July, Secretary Raimondo joined President Biden at the White House to announce voluntary commitments on AI safety and security from leading American companies, which she helped to secure. She has been a leader in shaping the G-7 Principles and Code of Conduct also announced this week and authored an op-ed in July on AI with Secretary Blinken for the Financial Times.