Reverse engineering (by) artificial intelligence
Shawn Bayern · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2022
This chapter discusses several possible implications of artificial intelligence for trade secret law and policy, particularly with regard to reverse engineering. Reverse engineering is traditionally a legitimate way to discover a trade secret, but modern forms of artificial intelligence amount to sophisticated tools for reverse engineering and may dramatically reduce the costs of many types of reverse engineering. Moreover, some types of artificial intelligence may be especially subject to practical forms of reverse engineering by other artificially intelligent systems, even while the AI systems remain difficult for humans to understand in detail. The chapter explores these ideas; its goal is to discuss new possibilities rather than to offer specific policy prescriptions.