Get to know # Nicole Nichols Nicole Nichols is a Distinguished Engineer in Machine Learning Security at Palo Alto Networks and has contributed to both academic and industrial advancements in adversarial machine learning and security. She leads research and development solutions for Cortex Foundational AI Research (FAIR). She has published at ACM, IEEE, and CVPR workshops, was co-chair of ICML ML4Cyber workshop, and is an advisor to the AI Security Forum. She was an invited keynote speaker for ACM-AiSec 2025. She is a Polymath Fellow in Artificial Intelligence for the Global Fellowship Initiative at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. She has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. [![linkedin](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/themes/panwblog2023/dist/images/linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-n-7948134/) *** ** * ** *** Blogs by Nicole Nichols Sort By: Recent Recent Popular *** ** * ** *** [![Crossing the Autonomy Threshold](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AdobeStock_1246251272-1-scaled.jpeg)](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2025/12/crossing-autonomy-threshold/) ## [AI Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ai-security/?ts=markdown), [Points of View](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/points-of-view/?ts=markdown), [Secure the Future](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/secure-the-future/?ts=markdown) ### [Crossing the Autonomy Threshold](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2025/12/crossing-autonomy-threshold/) Autonomous offensive cyber agents are here. Shift from human-led, reactive defense to proactive, machine-driven security for cyber resilience. Dec 05, 2025 By [Nicole Nichols](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/nicole-nichols/?ts=markdown "Posts by Nicole Nichols") and [Ryan Heartfield](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/ryan-heartfield/?ts=markdown "Posts by Ryan Heartfield") *** ** * ** *** [![Fairness and Safety of LLMs](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-1128214252-edit.jpg)](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/06/fairness-and-safety-of-llms/) ## [Company \& Culture](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/company-culture/?ts=markdown), [Points of View](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/points-of-view/?ts=markdown) ### [Fairness and Safety of LLMs](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/06/fairness-and-safety-of-llms/) The fairness and safety guarantees of LLMs, while crucial to social impact, are equally as important to the cybersecurity challenges they present. Jun 28, 2024 By [Nicole Nichols](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/nicole-nichols/?ts=markdown "Posts by Nicole Nichols") and [Prajakta Jagdale](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/prajakta-jagdale/?ts=markdown "Posts by Prajakta Jagdale") *** ** * ** *** *** ** * ** *** Blogs by Nicole Nichols Sort By: Popular Popular Recent *** ** * ** *** [![Crossing the Autonomy Threshold](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AdobeStock_1246251272-1-scaled.jpeg)](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2025/12/crossing-autonomy-threshold/) ## [AI Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ai-security/?ts=markdown), [Points of View](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/points-of-view/?ts=markdown), [Secure the Future](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/secure-the-future/?ts=markdown) ### [Crossing the Autonomy Threshold](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2025/12/crossing-autonomy-threshold/) Autonomous offensive cyber agents are here. Shift from human-led, reactive defense to proactive, machine-driven security for cyber resilience. Dec 05, 2025 By [Nicole Nichols](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/nicole-nichols/?ts=markdown "Posts by Nicole Nichols") and [Ryan Heartfield](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/ryan-heartfield/?ts=markdown "Posts by Ryan Heartfield") *** ** * ** *** [![Fairness and Safety of LLMs](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-1128214252-edit.jpg)](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/06/fairness-and-safety-of-llms/) ## [Company \& Culture](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/company-culture/?ts=markdown), [Points of View](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/points-of-view/?ts=markdown) ### [Fairness and Safety of LLMs](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/06/fairness-and-safety-of-llms/) The fairness and safety guarantees of LLMs, while crucial to social impact, are equally as important to the cybersecurity challenges they present. Jun 28, 2024 By [Nicole Nichols](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/nicole-nichols/?ts=markdown "Posts by Nicole Nichols") and [Prajakta Jagdale](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/prajakta-jagdale/?ts=markdown "Posts by Prajakta Jagdale") *** ** * ** *** {#footer} {#footer} ## Products and Services * [AI-Powered Network Security Platform](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security?ts=markdown) * [Secure AI by Design](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/precision-ai-security/secure-ai-by-design?ts=markdown) * [Prisma AIRS](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/prisma-ai-runtime-security?ts=markdown) * [AI Access Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/ai-access-security?ts=markdown) * [Cloud Delivered Security Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/security-subscriptions?ts=markdown) * [Advanced Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-threat-prevention?ts=markdown) * [Advanced URL 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