Adversarial Machine Learning for Social Good: Reframing the Adversary as an Ally

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been the driving force behind many of the recent advances in machine learning. However, research has shown that DNNs are vulnerable to adversarial examples—input samples that have been perturbed to force DNN-based models to make errors. As a result, adversarial machine learning (AdvML) has gained a lot of attention, and researchers have investigated these vulnerabilities in various settings and modalities. In addition, DNNs have also been found to incorporate embedded bias and often produce unexplainable predictions, which can result in antisocial AI applications. The emergence of new AI technologies that leverage large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT and GPT-4, increases the risk of producing antisocial applications at scale. AdvML for social good (AdvML4G) is an emerging field that repurposes the AdvML bug to invent prosocial applications. Regulators, practitioners, and researchers should collaborate to encourage the development of prosocial applications and hinder the development of antisocial ones. In this work, we provide the first comprehensive review of the emerging field of AdvML4G. This paper encompasses a taxonomy that highlights the emergence of AdvML4G, a discussion of the differences and similarities between AdvML4G and AdvML, a taxonomy covering social good-related concepts and aspects, an exploration of the motivations behind the emergence of AdvML4G at the intersection of ML4G and AdvML, and an extensive summary of the works that utilize AdvML4G as an auxiliary tool for innovating prosocial applications. Finally, we elaborate upon various challenges and open research issues that require significant attention from the research community.