OU announced in a press release the university has joined a national artificial intelligence consortium to develop safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence.
The U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium, or AISIC, is a national consortium tasked with developing safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence through collaboration between more than 200 organizations and institutions. AISIC is under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The consortium is a product of the Biden-Harris Administration’s executive order regarding the safety and security of artificial intelligence in an effort to ensure the safe use, management and development of the technology.
The Data Institute for Societal Challenges, or DISC, and the NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography, or AI2ES, are involved with the consortium.
“We are members of AISIC and are providing expertise and guidance on Trustworthy AI; responsible AI system design, development, and deployment; Human-AI Teaming and Interaction; AI fairness, explainability, and interpretability,” David Ebert, director of the Data Institute for Societal Challenges, wrote in an email to OU Daily.
Ebert explained the research community can develop best practices and ethical guidelines that can be used by policymakers when establishing restrictions and regulations.
The mission of DISC is to confront the challenges and safety issues artificial intelligence brings as well as to ensure the positive development and addition of the technology on a global level.
When asked how DISC will address these challenges, Ebert wrote they will collaborate and engage in discussions about standards and policy and begin to examine AI solutions that are accurate and fair.
Ebert explained that being part of AISIC directly aligns with the mission of DISC and will allow OU to participate in national policies even further.
The purpose of the participation of AI2ES in the consortium is to research how artificial intelligence can be used to advance the field of environmental science and to be used as a tool to predict severe weather phenomena to ensure the safety of society.
“AI2ES is delighted to be working with the consortium as part of our core focus on understanding the nature of trust in artificial intelligence,” Amy McGovern, principal investigator of AI2ES, wrote in a press release. “As AI is growing rapidly, it is clear that we need to develop ways to ensure that it is deployed in an ethical and responsible manner.”
Ebert wrote he is excited about the impact that the consortium will have on both a national and a global level.
“We are always looking for motivated students interested in getting involved in research to explore opportunities to join our team,” Ebert wrote.
This story was edited by Peggy Dodd, Anusha Fathepure and Ismael Lele. This story was copy edited by Zoe De Leon and Avery Avery.
