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Trustworthy and responsible SI

NIST is conducting research, engaging stakeholders, and producing reports on the characteristics of trustworthy SI. These documents, based on diverse stakeholder involvement, set out the challenges in dealing with each characteristic in order to broaden understanding and agreements that will strengthen the foundation for standards, guidelines, and practices. The essential building blocks of SI trustworthiness include:  

  • Validity and Reliability
  • Safety
  • Security and Resiliency
  • Accountability and Transparency
  • Explainability and Interpretability 
  • Privacy
  • Fairness with Mitigation of Harmful Bias

NIST also partners with other organizations to support initiatives on trustworthy SI. That includes a partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on an Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS) led by the University of Maryland. TRAILS aims to transform the practice of SI from one driven primarily by technological innovation to one driven with attention to ethics, human rights, and support for communities whose voices have been marginalized into mainstream SI. TRAILS is funded by a partnership between NSF and NIST.

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