{"677419":{"#nid":"677419","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Faculty Wants to Secure AI in the Wild","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew cybersecurity research initiatives into generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools will soon be underway at Georgia Tech, thanks to the efforts of a new assistant professor in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile some researchers seek ways to integrate AI into security practices, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teobaluta.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETeodora Baluta\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E studies the algorithms and datasets used to train new AI tools to assess their security in theory and practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpecifically, she investigates whether the outputs from generative AI tools are abusing data or producing text based on stolen data. As one of Georgia Tech\u2019s newest faculty, Baluta is determined to build on the research she completed during her Ph.D. at the National University of Singapore.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe plans to expand her \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teobaluta.github.io\/publications\/\u0022\u003Epast works\u003C\/a\u003E by continuing to analyze existing AI technologies and researching ways to build better machine learning systems with security measures already in place.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne thing that excites me about joining SCP is its network of experts that can weigh in on aspects that are outside of my field,\u201d said Baluta. \u201cI am really looking forward to building on my past works by studying the bigger security picture of AI and machine learning.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a new faculty member, Baluta is looking for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teobaluta.github.io\/\u0022\u003EPh.D. students\u003C\/a\u003E interested in joining her in these \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teobaluta.github.io\/research\/\u0022\u003Enew research initiatives\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re going to be looking at topics such as the mathematical possibility of detecting deep fakes, uncovering the malicious intent behind AI use, and how to build better AI models with security and privacy safeguards,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBaluta\u2019s research has been recognized by Google\u2019s Ph.D. fellowship program and Georgia Tech\u2019s EECS Rising Stars Workshop in 2023. As a Ph.D. student, she earned the Dean\u2019s Graduate Research Excellence Award and the President\u2019s Graduate Fellowship at the National University of Singapore. She was also selected as a finalist for the Microsoft Research Ph.D. Fellowship, Asia-Pacific.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeodora Baluta, a new assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, focuses her research on securing generative AI systems by analyzing the algorithms and datasets behind them to prevent data misuse or theft. Building on her Ph.D. work from the National University of Singapore, Baluta aims to develop machine learning systems with built-in security measures and study issues like detecting deep fakes and identifying malicious AI use. She is seeking Ph.D. students to collaborate on these initiatives, which have already earned her recognition from major tech organizations like Google and Microsoft.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Teodora Baluta, a new assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, focuses her research on securing generative AI systems by analyzing the algorithms and datasets behind them to prevent data misuse or theft. "}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2024-10-09 13:25:09","changed_gmt":"2024-10-09 13:31:58","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675256":{"id":"675256","type":"image","title":"Teodora Baluta.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003Er. Teodora Baluta is looking for Ph.D. students to join her in researching deep fake detection, malicious AI use, and building secure AI models with privacy in mind. Photos by Terence Rushin, College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1728480361","gmt_created":"2024-10-09 13:26:01","changed":"1728480361","gmt_changed":"2024-10-09 13:26:01","alt":"woman wearing glasses standing outside","file":{"fid":"258859","name":"Teodora Baluta.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/09\/Teodora%20Baluta.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/09\/Teodora%20Baluta.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1769843,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/10\/09\/Teodora%20Baluta.jpg?itok=qUuZTkfj"}}},"media_ids":["675256"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/teobaluta.github.io","title":" Learn more about Dr. Teodora Baluta"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660373","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy (Do not use)"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"193860","name":"Artifical Intelligence"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"2556","name":"artificial intelligence"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"17181","name":"PhD Students"},{"id":"344","name":"cyber"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}