In various examples, motifs, watermarks, and/or signature inputs are applied to a deep neural network (DNN) to detect faults in underlying hardware and/or software executing the DNN. Information corresponding to the motifs, watermarks, and/or signatures may be compared to the outputs of the DNN generated using the motifs, watermarks and/or signatures. When a the accuracy of the predictions are below a threshold, or do not correspond to the expected predictions of the DNN, the hardware and/or software may be determined to have a fault—such as a transient, an intermittent, or a permanent fault. Where a fault is determined, portions of the system that rely on the computations of the DNN may be shut down, or redundant systems may be used in place of the primary system. Where no fault is determined, the computations of the DNN may be relied upon by the system.