AI Safety Scores

AI Safety Scores Are In

...And They're Terrifying

Chris Ward | Founder and CEO, Fire Mountain Labs

April 14th, 2025

Why AI Safety Matters for Your Organization

We are living through an AI gold rush. Organizations across every sector are racing to adopt powerful generative and predictive AI technologies, eager to unlock new capabilities, automate decision-making, and stay ahead of the competition. Yet, beneath the promise of rapid innovation lies an unsettling reality: many AI systems marketed today lack even basic safety assurances.

Why does this matter to you, as a decision-maker or risk professional?

Because when safety is treated as an afterthought by the companies building AI, it's your organization—your brand, reputation, and bottom line—that suffers. The vendor’s risk becomes your risk.

A Troubling Reality: AI Safety Grades Exposed

Recently, an independent assessment by the Future of Life Institute graded leading AI companies on their safety practices. The results are alarming.

No vendor scored higher than a "C." Industry giants—those at the forefront of AI development—earned predominantly "D" grades or worse. Several failed outright.

These aren't obscure companies; these are household names providing the AI technologies your enterprise is likely evaluating or already deploying. The assessment evaluated key safety dimensions critical for business continuity and compliance:

The FLI AI Safety Index 2024 grades of six leading AI companies. Anthropic ranked highest with an overall grade of C (2.13 score). All other evaluated companies scored in the D range or below, with Meta receiving an F. The table also breaks down grades across six safety dimensions.

Source: "Leading AI Companies Get Lousy Grades on Safety." IEEE Spectrum, https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-safety. Accessed 14 April 2025.

AI Safety is No Longer Someone Else’s Problem

AI safety is now an organizational imperative—and the responsibility is landing on the shoulders of those closest to real-world impact.

CISOs are the last line of defense against unsafe or unvetted AI tools reaching production.
Risk assessors must spot weaknesses in AI governance before they become business liabilities.
IT and procurement leaders are expected to push beyond vendor claims and demand provable safeguards.
Compliance officers are being called to ensure AI outputs align with regulatory obligations—not just internal policy.

Why You Shouldn't Trust Vendor Claims Blindly

Here's the uncomfortable reality: AI vendors have strong incentives to downplay risks and emphasize benefits. Without independent oversight or third-party validation, assurances of safety, alignment, and responsible AI practices remain mere promises.

You can't afford to rely exclusively on vendor claims when your organization's reputation and operational effectiveness are at stake. Always demand evidence to substantiate assertions—trust must be backed by thorough verification.

Start asking your vendors pointed questions:

Can you show detailed evidence of your AI risk assessments?

Have independent audits or safety validations been performed?

What red-teaming or adversarial testing has the AI undergone?

Do your AI systems meet emerging compliance standards?

If answers are vague, unavailable, or incomplete, proceed cautiously.

Remember - it's your reputation, compliance posture, and competitive edge at stake, not theirs.

The Path Forward: Independent AI Assurance

Here's the good news: embracing AI doesn’t have to mean exposing yourself to unmanaged risk. It simply means adopting a disciplined approach to validating AI safety. Leading companies already rely on independent AI assurance as a critical step in their technology adoption processes, much as they do for cybersecurity and financial controls.

At Fire Mountain Labs, we understand the realities and risks of AI deployment.

We specialize in providing comprehensive AI risk assessments, red-teaming exercises, and secure-by-design strategies. Partner with us to ensure your AI systems are safe, compliant, and resilient. Explore our services to lean more.

Your Trusted Partner in AI Safety

Chris Ward is the CEO of Fire Mountain Labs, where he leads the company’s mission to advance safe and assured AI. Under his direction, Fire Mountain Labs delivers pioneering AI assurance solutions to enterprise and government clients, ensuring AI systems are deployed with security, integrity, and accountability.

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