Computer Hackers to Test Limits of AI Tools at Las Vegas Meeting

A major meeting of computer hackers² planned for this summer is to include an event that will test the limits of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The event, in August, will be held as part of the yearly DEF CON³ hacker¹ meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to hackers, the gathering⁴ draws computer security experts, students, federal government officials and others.

Organizers say this year's event is expected to include thousands of hackers. The meeting provides a chance for hackers to hear from leading industry officials about the latest developments in computer security. It also includes hacking⁵ competitions.

This year, several major AI developers will take part in DEF CON. Among them will be OpenAI, which launched its latest AI model, ChatGPT-4, in March. American software maker⁶ Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI. Google also released an AI system called Bard⁷ earlier this year.

The administration of President Joe Biden has said it will support the hacking event as part of efforts to study the latest AI tools. Administration officials said the government is aiming to ensure that the fast-developing systems will continue to improve without putting people's rights and safety at risk.

Recently released AI tools are built by feeding huge amounts of information into machine learning computer systems. The data trains the AI systems to develop complex skills and produce human-like results.

Experts have warned that such systems may bring major changes to many different jobs and industries. They also fear the tools, known as "chatbots," could greatly increase the amount of misinformation in the news media and on social media.

Organizers of the DEF CON event say some of the questions attendees will try to answer include: How can chatbots be changed by hackers to cause harm? Will they share private data meant to be secret with other users? And why do the systems get easily confused when processing information about gender⁸ and race?

"This is why we need thousands of people," Rumman Chowdhury told The Associated Press. She is an organizer of the hacking event and co-founder of AI accountability nonprofit Humane⁹ Intelligence.

Chowdhury added, "We need a lot of people with a wide range of lived experiences, subject matter expertise¹⁰ and backgrounds hacking at these models and trying to find problems that can then go be fixed¹¹."

Chowdhury said results of the event can provide helpful information to companies looking at ways to safely use the fast-developing AI systems. She noted¹² that the hackers' work will not end after the gathering. They will spend months afterward¹³ creating reports on their findings and identifying specific system vulnerabilities.

Alexandr Wang is the chief executive of AI developer Scale AI. He told the AP, "As these foundation models become more and more widespread, it's really critical that we do everything we can to ensure their safety."

Wang said he especially worries about chatbots giving out "unbelievably bad medical advice" or other misinformation that can cause serious harm.

Jack¹⁴ Clark is the co-founder of AI developer Anthropic. He said he hopes the DEF CON event will lead to deeper commitments from AI developers to measure and test the safety of their systems.

For this to happen, though, Clark said AI systems will need to be examined by third parties both before and after deployment¹⁵. "We need to get practice at figuring out how to do this. It hasn't really been done before," he said.

Words in This Story

hacker – n. someone who illegally, or for research purposes, gets into someone else's computer system

artificial intelligence – n. the development of computer systems that have the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence

confused – adj. unable to think clearly or understand something

vulnerable – adj. easy to hurt or attack physically¹⁶ or emotionally

foundation– n. the idea or principle something is based on

commitment – n. a firm decision to do something

figure out –v. (phrasal) to discover something by thinking

1 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

2 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

3 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

6 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

7 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

14 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

15 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

16 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。