US, Britain and other countries ink ‘secure by design’ AI guidelines

cointelegraph.com:

The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and 15 other countries have released global guidelines to help protect AI models from being tampered with, urging companies to make their models “secure by design.”

On Nov. 26, the 18 countries released a 20-page document outlining how AI firms should handle their cybersecurity when developing or using AI models, as they claimed “security can often be a secondary consideration” in the fast-paced industry.

The guidelines consisted of mostly general recommendations such as maintaining a tight leash on the AI model’s infrastructure, monitoring for any tampering with models before and after release, and training staff on cybersecurity risks.

Exciting news! We joined forces with @NCSC and 21 international partners to develop the “Guidelines for Secure AI System Development”! This is operational collaboration in action for secure AI in the digital age: https://t.co/DimUhZGW4R#AISafety #SecureByDesign pic.twitter.com/e0sv5ACiC3

Not mentioned were certain contentious issues in the AI space, including what possible controls there should be around the use of image-generating models and deep fakes or data collection methods and use in training models — an issue that’s seen multiple AI firms sued on copyright infringement claims.

“We are at an inflection point in the development of artificial intelligence, which may well be the most consequential technology of our time,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “Cybersecurity is key to building AI systems that are safe, secure, and trustworthy.”

Related: EU tech coalition warns of over-regulating AI before EU AI Act finalization

The guidelines follow other government initiatives that weigh in on AI,