UT San Antonio Secures NSF Grant to Train Students in AI Security
The University of Texas (UT) San Antonio has received a $500,000 award from the National Science Foundation to launch a training program focused on AI security. Led by Assistant Professor Nishant Vishwamitra, the program aims to equip students with the skills to identify and rectify security risks in AI-generated code before they enter the workforce. This initiative addresses the critical issue that while AI tools accelerate code creation, they frequently produce insecure code. In collaboration with the University at Buffalo, the program, utilizing an online learning platform called OpenSecCoder, is projected to reach 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students annually. The training will emphasize agentic AI, which involves AI autonomously carrying out complex tasks, and will provide hands-on lab experiences where students learn to critically evaluate AI-generated software and mitigate security vulnerabilities.
