The General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have launched a partnership to establish, test, and measure evaluation standards for artificial intelligence (AI) tools, aimed at ensuring security and boosting confidence in AI technologies used by federal agencies.
According to a Wednesday announcement from GSA, the new partnership with NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation will support its USAi platform, which allows agencies to experiment with various models. The new testing and measurement effort aims to speed up AI adoption while improving security and confidence in those systems.
Per the release, the CAISI — formerly the AI Safety Institute — will provide tools and guidance to help GSA “evaluate advanced AI models, select and interpret benchmarks, and conduct hands-on testing within real federal workflows.”
The agencies also plan to create “guidelines and checklists” that other agencies can adopt.
Notably, President Donald Trump’s AI Action Plan last year recommended building an “evaluations ecosystem” and establishing resources for agencies to conduct their own testing.
“We’re at a pivotal time in the AI revolution and this partnership between CAISI and GSA will enable federal agencies to adopt AI in ways that help the American people,” Craig Burkhardt, NIST’s acting director, said in a written statement in the release.
Key Aspects of the GSA-NIST Partnership
CAISI Involvement: NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), formerly known as the AI Safety Institute, will provide tooling and guidance to evaluate advanced AI models.
USAi.Gov Platform: The effort centers on GSA’s secure cloud-based platform, USAi.gov, which allows agencies to experiment with and deploy AI tools, including chatbots and code generation.
Evaluation Tools & Checklists: NIST will help develop practical guidelines, benchmarks, and checklists to help agencies assess their own AI tools, reducing duplicated efforts across the government.
Hands-on Testing: CAISI will conduct hands-on research within real federal workflows to evaluate the functionality and safety of AI systems.
Impact on Government AI Adoption
Faster, Secure Adoption: The partnership is designed to accelerate the adoption of AI by ensuring that tools are safe and effective before they are deployed in agency missions.
Standardized Security: This effort provides a consistent method for evaluating AI systems, mitigating risks related to bias and reliability.
Procurement Support: GSA has also released a draft of a new contract clause, “Basic Safeguarding of Artificial Intelligence Systems,” designed to hold contractors to high security standards, with a focus on data handling, incident reporting, and “American AI Systems”.
This joint effort is part of a broader push to accelerate the responsible use of AI across the federal government, aligning with recent OMB guidance and the Biden-Trump era focus on AI leadership.
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