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NIST seeks public input on its AI executive order requirements

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking information to aid its implementation of AI requirements in Biden’s recent executive order.
Vice President Kamala Harris applauds as President Joe Biden signs an executive order after delivering remarks on advancing the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 30, 2023. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is looking for information to assist how it implements several requirements under President Joe Biden’s artificial intelligence executive order, including the development of evaluation capabilities and the creation of red-teaming test guidance.

The Department of Commerce agency released a request for information for public inspection on the Federal Register on Tuesday. Comments, it said, must be received before Feb. 2, 2024. 

“I want to invite the broader AI community to engage with our talented and dedicated team through this request for information to advance the measurement and practice of AI safety and trust,” Laurie E. Locascio, NIST’s director and the under secretary of standards and technology, said in a written statement Tuesday. “It is essential that we gather all perspectives as we work to establish a strong and unbiased scientific understanding of AI, which has the potential to impact so many areas of our lives.”

The request specifically relates to NIST’s requirements under the order to establish best practices for industry on AI development, create guidance for evaluating AI capabilities, produce a report on reducing synthetic content from AI, and make a plan for developing global consensus standards. 

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Other requirements for the agency under the order — such as those on cybersecurity, privacy, and synthetic nucleic acid sequencing — “are being addressed separately from this RFI,” NIST said in a release.

The request follows other ongoing AI work by the agency. Last month, NIST sent out a request seeking participants for a new AI consortium, which it said would be essential to its work under the executive order. 

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