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GAITHERSBURG, Maryland. — Today, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced that the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $6 million to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to create a joint center to support cooperative research and experimentation for testing and evaluation. modern AI capabilities and tools. The center will be housed on the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh.
“Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our generation, and at Commerce, we are committed to working with America’s world-class higher education institutions, like Carnegie Mellon University, to advance safe, secure and reliable AI,” Raimondo said. “I am thrilled to announce this $6 million NIST award to Carnegie Mellon to spur research into AI systems and support a new generation of scientists and engineers who will help advance American innovation on a global scale.”
The CMU/NIST Cooperative Research Center in AI Metrics Science and Engineering will seek to advance risk management practices and AI assessment approaches through stakeholder partnerships and translate capabilities and assessment methodologies in practice.
“This new cooperative research center will expand NIST’s knowledge base and fundamental research capacity in AI,” said Laurie E. Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of NIST. “Through this partnership, we will strengthen our understanding of foundation models and support new research. — and new researchers — in this rapidly evolving field.
The center will focus on fundamental research and development of AI system-level tools, metrics, evaluation procedures, development processes, and best practices to help AI builders systematically design safe AI systems. Its efforts will align with NIST’s AI priorities, including better methods for measuring validity, reliability, safety, privacy, and security; accountability, transparency, fairness and explainability; and evaluation of generative AI at any stage of development or deployment.
The grant to CMU was awarded through the NIST Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grants program, which supports collaborative research aligned with NIST research goals. The program aims to develop a diverse, world-class pipeline of scientists and engineers to engage in research on measurement science and NIST standards and to promote understanding of measurement science and standards.
The new center’s work will support the NIST AI Innovation Lab (NAIIL), which is part of NIST’s broader efforts in basic AI measurement research and guideline development.