Announced at recent NATO Cyber Defense ConferenceLASR will bring together experts from industry, academia and government to strengthen Britain’s cyber resilience and support growth. Leading researchers from the University of Oxford’s Division of Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) and Global Cybersecurity Capability Center will work alongside partner institutions, government agencies and commercial stakeholders.
By bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives, LASR will take a comprehensive and strategic approach to addressing complex security challenges emerging in AI technologies.
Professor James Naismith, Head of the MPLS Division, said: “The AI Security Research Lab is an exciting and important collaboration between government and University of Oxford scientists within the MPLS Division. MPLS. We will work together to develop a rigorous understanding of the security and trustworthiness of emerging AI systems. As the power and utility of these systems increase, this work is timely.
Oxford will advance LASR with a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on expertise from across the university’s research ecosystem. Five departments of the MPLS Division will support an initial cohort of ten doctoral students conducting fundamental and applied research on the security of AI and Machine Learning. The Global Cybersecurity Capability Center will conduct investigations into emerging systemic risks, with a particular focus on AI supply chains and national cybersecurity preparedness.
“I am delighted to help LASR build a team of exceptional PhD students who will carry out research in areas critical to our future,” said Professor David De Roure, Academic Director of LASR at Oxford. “We build on much previous work in cybersecurity and AI across the institution and look forward to providing a collaborative research center in Oxford that will respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.”
The lab will use a catalytic funding model, with initial government investment expected to attract substantial industry participation.
The LASR Partnership approach reflects Oxford’s tradition of combining academic excellence with practical innovation, whilst strengthening links between the UK’s leading research centres.
Professor Sadie Creese, The Director of the Global Cybersecurity Capability Center said: “The AI Security Research Lab is a crucial initiative at a time when understanding the interplay between AI and cybersecurity is more important than ever. At Oxford, we bring deep expertise and a history of pioneering frameworks. Through the Global Cybersecurity Capability Center, we are investigating topics related to emerging systemic risks around AI supply chains and developing insights into country cybersecurity preparedness. AI. Together, we aim to shape a future where AI technologies can be both transformative and secure.
THE The AI Security Research Lab (LASR) is a partnership between the University of Oxford, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) and the Government Communications Headquarters. (GCHQ), Plexal, The Alan Turing Institute and Queen’s University Belfast. The relevant departments at the University of Oxford are the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Engineering, the Institute of Mathematics, the Department of Physics and the Department of Statistics.
