Aug. 9 (UPI) — The AI Cyber Challenge competition launched by the Biden administration Wednesday will use AI to protect the most important U.S. software like the code that runs the Internet.
Nearly $20 million in prizes will be used to encourage people across the country to identify and fix cyber vulnerabilities using AI.
According to the White House, the project led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is a competition that will include collaboration with several top AI companies including Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
“The top competitors will make a meaningful difference in cybersecurity for America and the world,” a White House statement Wednesday said. “The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), a project of the Linux Foundation, will serve as a challenge advisor. It will also help ensure that the winning software code is put to use right away protecting America’s most vital software and keeping the American people safe.”
AI companies will make their cutting-edge technology available to competitors to use in designing AI cybersecurity solutions.
The White House said the AI Cyber Challenge “will demonstrate the potential benefits of AI to help secure software used across the internet and throughout society, from the electric grids that power America to the transportation systems that drive daily life.”
Competing teams will participate in a qualifying event in Spring 2024 followed by a semifinal competition at the DEF CON 2024 cybersecurity conference.
Five teams will graduate to the final competition to be completed at the 2025 DEF CON conference.
After meeting with seven big U.S. tech companies in July, President Joe Biden said they made voluntary commitments in part of a growing federal effort to ensure “safe, secure, and transparent development of AI technology.”
Even as the White House seeks to use AI to protect cybersecurity, criminals are already starting to use AI for the opposite goal.
A cybersecurity firm discovered in July that the AI tool WormGPT is being sold to criminals. Europol, the EU law enforcement agency, said such tools hold “masses of potential” for being exploited by hackers.
At the same time that it presents threats to humanity, AI offers positive potential in areas like healthcare.
According to Harvard Medical School research for example, a new AI tool allows doctors to decipher a brain tumor’s genetic code in real time during surgery.
As the AI Cyber Challenge was announced Wednesday the Biden administration said it is part of a broader commitment to make sure the power of AI is harnessed to address the nation’s great challenges while developing the technology safely and responsibly.