Connecting cyber talent with AI leaders and opportunities
Heron is a not-for-profit initiative that bridges the gap between frontier AI models and the level of cybersecurity they need. We are focused on growing the field of frontier AI security by bringing together elite cybersecurity professionals for hands-on projects, meetings with global experts, and collaborative opportunities.
Why AI security?
Modern AI systems are rapidly becoming some of the most powerful technologies ever created. Yet most frontier models lack the security infrastructure needed to defend against sophisticated state actors. Government oversight remains limited and underdeveloped.
A landmark RAND report, led by Sella Nevo and Dan Lahav, revealed in May 2024 critical gaps in how AI labs secure their most valuable assets - their model weights - in light of current capabilities and threat models. These findings helped inspire the creation of the Heron Initiative, backed by Open Philanthropy, as part of our efforts to mitigate risks to society from emerging technologies.
The Heron Initiative
We bring together world-class cybersecurity experts to explore the emerging challenges of frontier AI security. Through exclusive events participants will engage directly with industry leaders and work on cutting-edge projects.Our focus areas include:
Model weight protection
Edge deployment security
Novel AI attack vectors
System architecture security
Our guest speakers hail from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, RAND and other leading AI Security organizations.