The competition will culminate in a final event at DEF CON 25, where the top three teams will win monetary prizes, with the first-place team receiving $4 million. The winning team will be encouraged to open-source their program, with the Open Source Security Foundation advising on the challenge to ensure the code is immediately usable. The initiative is part of the Biden Administration's broader efforts to advance AI technology, including a proposed AI Bill of Rights and the establishment of seven new national research institutes dedicated to AI and machine learning.
Key takeaways:
- The Biden Administration has announced a DARPA-led challenge competition to build AI systems that can identify and fix software vulnerabilities, in an effort to better defend the nation’s critical digital infrastructure.
- The "AI Cyber Challenge" (AIxCC) is a two-year program open to US competitors, hosted by DARPA in collaboration with Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. These companies will provide their expertise and access to their AI technologies.
- The competition will offer nearly $20 million in prize money, with $7 million specifically available to small businesses. The top three scoring teams will win significant monetary prizes, with the first place team receiving $4 million.
- The winning team will be encouraged to open-source their program, with The Open Source Security Foundation advising on the challenge to ensure the code is put to immediate use. The aim is to produce the next generation of cybersecurity tools and demonstrate how AI can be used to better society by defending its critical underpinnings.