Artificial intelligence

NIST promotes innovation and cultivates trust in the design, development, use and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and systems in ways that enhance our safety, economic security and competitiveness, and quality of life.

To enable the U.S. economy to harness the full benefits of AI, while managing and protecting against risks, NIST focuses on fundamental research and improving AI measurement science, technology, standards and related tools — including evaluations and data. NIST promotes a risk-based approach to AI, recognizing that it must be agile as these technologies are advancing at unprecedented speed. NIST has a nonregulatory science mission that allows us to engage with industry and others who voluntarily adopt our guidance.

What NIST Does

• Conducts fundamental research, emphasizing measurements and risk management: NIST’s AI portfolio includes fundamental research, evaluations and standards for AI technologies — including software, hardware, architectures, human interaction and teaming, and all relevant intersections and interfaces — vital for AI computational trust.
• Enables effective use of AI across government agencies: NIST explores characteristics and challenges of trustworthy AI to broaden understanding that is the foundation for standards, guidelines and practices used by public and private sector organizations. That includes applying AI research and advancing innovations across NIST's research portfolio.
• Prepares guidelines for AI developers and users: NIST develops resources like the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF), a guide to managing AI-associated risks to individuals, organizations and society. For other guidelines, see the AI Resource Center.
• Helps to measure and evaluate AI: NIST develops tests for and runs AI-related evaluations, like those carried out by NIST GenAI.
• Supports development of AI technical standards: NIST leads and participates in the development of technical standards, including international standards, that promote innovation and public trust in systems that use AI.
• Informs policies on AI risk management and governance: NIST provides scientific and technical expertise and contributions to policy development, is a neutral convener of organizations with disparate views about AI matters, and participates actively in national and global discussions.

Why NIST?

• Experience: 120+ years of experience in research, development and standards. That includes widely recognized work advancing measurements, tools, standards and test beds that underlie trustworthy AI technologies. 
• Expertise: NIST draws upon a highly specialized workforce across many scientific and technical domains.
• Collaborative approach: NIST works closely with organizations across the U.S. and globally through proactive engagements from start to finish. Partnerships are key.

NIST’s work is driven by Congressional mandates, Presidential Executive Orders and federal policies, and the input and needs expressed by U.S. industry, the global research community, other federal agencies, and the broader AI community — as well as by NIST’s experience and its own capabilities.  

The agency’s AI efforts are carried out by the NIST AI Innovation Lab (NAILL), the U.S. AI Safety Institute, and several other NIST laboratories and programs, working closely with the broader AI community.