At the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — the government facility overseeing the most highly anticipated technology globally — some employees have been displaced from their offices due to the presence of black mold. To ensure the safety of their research during frequent power outages, researchers have chosen to sleep in their labs. In light of unreliable internet connectivity, certain staff members find it necessary to transport hard drives to alternate buildings due to difficulties in sending large files.
Moreover, some individuals must use plastic sheeting to address a leaky roof situation. James Fekete, the former chief of NIST’s applied chemicals and materials division until 2018, shared, “In anticipation of rainfall, we would cover the microscope with a tarp. The leaks were substantial enough to warrant preparedness.”
NIST plays a central role in President Biden’s ambitious initiatives to oversee a new era of artificial intelligence models. The focus is on developing tests to identify security vulnerabilities and other risks. However, financial constraints have led to understaffed essential tech teams and numerous facilities across its primary Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo., campuses falling below acceptable building standards.
Numerous interviews with current and former NIST staff, Biden administration representatives, congressional aides, and technology company executives, alongside government-commissioned reports, highlight a significant resource gap between NIST and the tech corporations it evaluates. This disparity poses a risk to the White House’s goals of establishing guidelines for advancing technology. Many sources spoke to The Washington Post anonymously due to lack of authorization to engage with the media.
Despite the urgency to establish the new U.S. AI Safety Institute, challenges at the deteriorating lab are mounting. A recent spending proposal suggests a reduction of over 10 percent in NIST’s overall budget to \(1.46 billion. While a \)10 million investment in the new AI institute is proposed, this amount is dwarfed by the substantial investments made by tech giants like Google and Microsoft in the AI race. The British government, for instance, has allocated over $125 million to its AI safety endeavors.
The budget cuts are seen as detrimental to global tech competition, as stated by Divyansh Kaushik, the associate director for emerging technologies and national security at the Federation of American Scientists.
There are concerns within the AI community that the insufficient funding of NIST exposes it to undue influence from industry players. Tech companies are providing the costly computing infrastructure required for the institute to evaluate AI models. For example, Amazon pledged $5 million in compute credits, while Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, will offer engineering teams and computing resources. Notable is the regular communication between tech executives, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Commerce Department officials regarding the agency’s AI initiatives. OpenAI has actively collaborated with NIST on artificial intelligence matters, as indicated in federal disclosures. NIST has also reached out to TechNet, an industry trade group comprising members like OpenAI and Google, for advice on the AI Safety Institute.
Additionally, NIST is seeking input from academics and civil society organizations on its AI initiatives. According to Commerce Department spokesman Charlie Andrews, the agency has a longstanding tradition of collaborating with various stakeholders to gather insights on technologies.
White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson stressed the importance of Elizabeth Kelly’s appointment to lead the new AI Safety Institute, highlighting the administration’s commitment to executing tasks effectively and promptly. Kelly, a former special assistant to the president for economic policy, symbolizes the administration’s dedication to achieving the milestones outlined in President Biden’s executive order aimed at safeguarding Americans from potential AI risks while fostering innovation in AI and related fields.
The financial challenges faced by NIST underscore the difficulties in the administration’s strategy to regulate AI solely through executive actions. Without congressional intervention, there is no additional funding for crucial initiatives like the AI Safety Institute, leaving them vulnerable to potential reversal by future administrations. As the next presidential elections approach, the likelihood of Congress taking action on AI in 2024 appears increasingly uncertain.
Former NIST employees and congressional aides point out the agency’s struggle to secure prioritized funding, despite increasing recognition of its role in addressing technological advancements such as AI, chips, and quantum technologies.
An assessment of NIST’s safety protocols in August highlighted the risks posed by budgetary constraints to employees, suggesting that the agency has adopted an inadequate and superficial safety approach.
Challenges with Infrastructure
NIST, one of the oldest scientific agencies in the federal government, operates with one of the smallest budgets. Initially known as the National Bureau of Standards, it was established at the turn of the 20th century in response to the growing need for standardized measurements amidst the expansion of electricity, steam engines, and railways.
The necessity for such an agency became evident three years after its inception when fires devastated Baltimore. Firefighters from various cities rushed to assist, but the absence of standard couplings rendered their hoses incompatible with Baltimore hydrants, leading to a significant loss of property.
NIST’s pivotal role in utilizing research and science to learn from disasters and prevent future calamities has been consistent throughout its history. Its scope expanded post-World War II, contributing to the development of fundamental technologies like the early digital computer, essential instruments for the Space Race, and atomic clocks pivotal for GPS functionality. In the 1950s and 1960s, the agency relocated to modern campuses in Boulder and Gaithersburg after its original headquarters in Washington deteriorated.
Presently, NIST personnel humorously refer to their work environment as the most advanced labs of the 1960s. Former employees recall cutting-edge scientific equipment housed in aging structures that impede the control of essential environmental conditions for critical experiments.
Former acting NIST director Kent Rochford recounted instances of visible decay within the facilities, such as dust accumulation due to poorly sealed windows, leak-induced water drips requiring buckets, and makeshift solutions like Home Depot dehumidifiers scattered throughout the premises.
The extent of flooding prompted Rochford to jest about requesting scuba gear at one point. While this request was denied, funding was eventually allocated for an emergency kit inclusive of squeegees to manage water accumulation.
Incursions by pests and wildlife have been reported on NIST campuses, including an incident involving a garter snake infiltrating a building in Boulder.
A report commissioned by Congress from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in February 2023 revealed that over 60 percent of NIST facilities fail to meet federal standards for acceptable working conditions. The substandard conditions have a direct impact on employee productivity, with makeshift repairs and workarounds reducing research staff efficiency by up to 40 percent, as indicated during the committee’s interviews with employees on-site.
Despite efforts to address these challenges, NIST employees continue to resort to makeshift solutions reminiscent of the television character MacGyver. For example, a low-humidity environment in one lab during certain months generates a static charge that hampers the operation of an instrument crucial for verifying companies’ compliance with environmental standards concerning greenhouse gases.
Issues with the HVAC system and specialized lighting have hindered the production of reference materials, essential for verifying measurement accuracy in products like infant formula.
Furthermore, facility inadequacies have resulted in delays in critical biometrics research, including assessments of facial recognition systems employed by law enforcement agencies like the FBI. The data center in a building dating back to 1966, housing this critical work, lacks adequate cooling, forcing employees to spend approximately 30 percent of their time addressing lab-related issues. Scheduled outages are necessary to maintain the data centers supporting technology operations, leading to a month-long disruption annually for all biometric evaluations.
While James Fekete’s team managed to keep their device operational despite water leaks, other NIST employees weren’t as fortunate. Instances of leaks and floods resulted in the destruction of a $2.5 million electron microscope utilized for semiconductor research and permanent damage to a sophisticated scale known as a Kibble balance, rendering it inoperable for nearly five years.
Pioneering AI Assessment
Despite the infrastructural challenges, NIST has established itself as a proficient evaluator of rapidly advancing AI systems.
In 2019, the agency released a groundbreaking study confirming the higher misidentification rates of people of color by facial recognition systems compared to White individuals, shedding light on the technology’s biases prevalent in law enforcement applications. Notably, due to staffing limitations, only a small team was involved in this project.
Four years later, NIST published preliminary guidelines on AI, solidifying its reputation as a governmental frontrunner in the field. Through collaborations with industry leaders, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders, the agency garnered widespread recognition as lawmakers grappled with the evolving technology landscape.
This track record positioned NIST as a natural fit for the Biden administration’s AI red-teaming efforts and the establishment of the AI Safety Institute, formalized through a November executive order. Vice President Harris endorsed the institute during the U.K. AI Safety Summit, with over 200 organizations, academics, and companies, including OpenAI and Google, expressing interest in participating in a consortium under the institute’s umbrella.
OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood affirmed the company’s support for NIST’s endeavors and reiterated their commitment to collaborating with the lab to enhance AI oversight measures effectively.
Under the executive order’s directives, NIST faces a demanding timeline to fulfill various initiatives by summer, including issuing guidelines for red-teaming AI models and launching an initiative to guide AI capability evaluations. Elham Tabassi, the agency’s chief AI adviser, acknowledged the complexity of these tasks, labeling the deadlines as “almost impossible” during a speech at the NeurIPS machine learning conference in December. Tabassi, recently appointed as the chief technology officer of the AI Safety Institute, emphasized the challenges in evaluating AI systems accurately.
Commerce Department spokesperson Charlie Andrews commended NIST staff for their unwavering commitment to fulfilling the responsibilities outlined in the AI executive order. While acknowledging the need for additional resources to address the broad spectrum of AI challenges in the long run, Andrews affirmed NIST’s readiness to lead in AI-related research and related activities.
During an event at the Atlantic Council in January, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo advocated for a \(10 million allocation to the AI Safety Institute. The Biden administration also sought increased funding for NIST facilities, including \)262 million designated for safety, maintenance, and repairs. However, congressional appropriators responded by reducing NIST’s facilities budget.
The administration’s funding request falls short of the recommendations put forth by the national academies’ study, which urged Congress to allocate an additional \(300 to \)400 million annually over 12 years to address the backlog of facilities maintenance issues. The report also emphasized the need for \(120 to \)150 million per year over the same period to mitigate further deterioration and obsolescence effects.
Ross B. Corotis, who chaired the academies committee responsible for the facilities report, emphasized the critical role of Congress in ensuring adequate funding for NIST. He highlighted NIST’s pivotal position as the primary laboratory for addressing new technological challenges, underscoring the necessity for the agency to remain well-equipped for such demands.
The challenges faced by NIST underscore the importance of sustained financial support to uphold its pivotal role in addressing emerging technologies, as highlighted by the committee’s report.
Eva Dou and Nitasha Tiku contributed to this report.
