Machine learning algorithms have rapidly become the key to advancing technologies far beyond their current capabilities. Their ability to analyze large amounts of data, autonomously evolve to meet dynamic challenges, and surpass the limitations of the human mind, present tremendous possibilities for the future. But with those possibilities come dangers. While Hollywood paints a rather far-fetched picture of machines rising up and eradicating humanity, the current reality is that many machine learning powered systems are susceptible to attack. And they're being attacked right now.

According to F-Secure Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Matti Aksela, there's a common misconception that'advanced' AI should mimic human intelligence – an assumption Project Blackfin aims to challenge. "People's expectations that'advanced' machine intelligence simply mimics human intelligence is limiting our understanding of what AI can and should do. Instead of building AI to function as though it were human, we can and should be exploring ways to unlock the unique potential of machine intelligence, and how that can augment what people do," said Aksela, Head of F-Secure's Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence. "We created Project Blackfin to help us reach that next level of understanding about what AI can achieve." Project Blackfin is a research initiative conceptualised by Aksela's cross-disciplinary team of artificial intelligence and cyber security researchers, mathematicians, data scientists, machine learning experts, and engineers.