The extent of artificial intelligence’s abilities is the topic du jour in academia, industry, geopolitics, and even on social media. For good reason: AI has the ability to upend society in a new technological revolution. In AI-safety discussions, focus has concentrated on AI’s abilities to specialize in several specific, highly-skilled areas of expertise, one of which is offensive cyber. But, as practitioners in this space know well, expertise is difficult to hone, and hard to come by.
It will take years to fully understand how AI will enable reverse engineering, vulnerability discovery, and exploit development, but over the last several years, we have begun to form an understanding of what models do well, and where they struggle. In this keynote, we’ll dive into what models are capable of today, what they may accomplish tomorrow, and how they will alter this area of computer science in the years to come. From fundamental realities of computer science, such as the Halting Problem and state explosion, to the question of emergent capabilities in models and the ongoing quest to develop metrologies for their performance in specialized areas, the AI community needs the expertise of offensive security practitioners to understand what this technology can, and cannot, do. And perhaps, in turn, the offensive security community needs AI to bring about the next generation of innovation.
Perri Adams is a former Special Assistant to the Director at DARPA, where she advised stakeholders at the agency and across the U.S. government on the next generation of AI and cybersecurity technology.
Prior to this role, Adams was a program manager within DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O), where, among other programs, she created the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC). Previously, she was also a technical advisor for research and development programs at DARPA.
Before joining the agency, she supported various U.S. government customers, including other parts of the Department of Defense, while at Boeing and Two Six Technologies.
A frequent speaker on both technical and cyber policy issues, her written work has been published by Lawfare and the Council on Foreign Relations. She has also advised and collaborated with think tanks such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
