News

Large Language Model Agents, a Massive Open Online Class

In September 2024 ACTION, co-PI Dawn Song (UC Berkeley) will launch a massive open online course (MOOC) focused on Large Language Model Agents. She developed the MOOC with a Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, and has arranged for a dozen guest speakers from leading organizations in the space of AI.

The description from the course website reads: 

Review of ACTION's Annual Review and Knowledge Expo

The ACTION AI Institute held its first annual Knowledge Expo on June 20-21 in UC Santa Barbara's Henley Hall. The Expo included a series of "Birds of a Feather" sessions on topics related to AI and Cybersecurity, poster showcases, and presentations from ACTION faculty, DHS, and local government.  The event also served as the Institute's first annual review. 

ACTION at Summit for Digital Trust

The Center for Digital Trust (C4DT) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) held the Second Annual Summit of Centers for Digital Trust in Glion, Switzerland in August 2024.

UCSB Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

On August 15, 2024, ACTION AI was one of fifteen undergraduate summer research programs across UC Santa Barbara gathered for a research symposium and poster session. In total, there were 65 posters on display, spanning engineering, the sciences, and the social sciences. The symposium marked the end of an eight-week research experience, full of hands-on training, professional development, and networking opportunities for our scholars.

Finalists at the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge

DARPA announced the seven finalists of the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) at DEFCON 32. Of the nearly 40 teams with submissions, two of the finalist teams have ties to ACTION. Shellphish has their origins at UC Santa Barbara with Giovanni Vigna and many of the team members are current and former members of the UCSB SecLab.

AIVO Grants Available to ACTION Researchers

The AI Institutes Virtual Organization (AIVO) is once again providing additional support to AI institutes through a variety of programs. All institutes, including ACTION, have access to funds that support travel, foreign collaboration, and hosting events for inter-institute community building. 

ACTION at the Strategically Leveraging AI in Education Conference

Giovanni Vigna delivered an invited presentation at the 2024 virtual conference on Strategically Leveraging AI in Education. His presentation, "Cyber Threat Intelligence in the New AI Era" gave an overview of the ACTION AI Institute's mission and goals. Also speaking was the INVITE AI Institute Director, H. Chad Lane.

Schedule

Statistical Methods in Cyber Security at JSM 2024

Xiaoming Huo and Bin Yu organized an invited session at the Joint Statistical Meeting (JSM 2024), on the topics of “statistical methods in cyber security.” Participating ACTION faculty included Jie Gao, Bo Li, and Radha Poovendran.