In a bid to assist US management in AI, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is investing $20m in a significant AI safety venture.
This funding will probably be used to new analysis and growth facilities – the AI Economic Security Center for US Manufacturing Productivity, and the AI Economic Security Center to Secure US Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats.
These two entities, each run by US nonprofit MITRE, will develop the know-how evaluations and developments which can be “necessary to effectively protect US dominance in AI innovation, address threats from adversaries’ use of AI and reduce risks from reliance on insecure AI,” NIST mentioned in a public statement printed on December 22.
The institute expects these facilities to allow breakthroughs in utilized science and superior know-how and ship disruptive modern options to sort out probably the most urgent challenges going through the nation.
US Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Paul Dabbar, mentioned this funding will “help drive the American manufacturing renaissance” by rising the competitiveness of US producers and attracting funding within the nation.
Craig Burkhardt, the Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Acting NIST Director, additionally commented on this new NIST-MITRE cooperation: “This new agreement with MITRE will focus on enhancing the ability of US companies to make high-value products more efficiently, meet market demands domestically and internationally and catalyze discovery and commercialization of new technologies and devices.”
The funding is a part of NIST’s Strategy for American Technology Leadership in the 21st Century to speed up the progress of crucial and rising applied sciences from growth to adoption and aligns with suggestions within the White House’s July 2025 America’s AI Action Plan, together with Pillar I: Accelerate AI Innovation and Pillar II: Build American AI Infrastructure.
The two facilities will full a spread of AI and security-focused initiatives spearheaded by NIST, which embrace the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), previously generally known as the US AI Safety Institute.
Additionally, NIST will quickly announce a $70m AI for Resilient Manufacturing Institute beneath the Manufacturing USA program, pairing federal funds with personal funding to strengthen AI-driven provide chains and manufacturing resilience.
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