US DHS establishes AI Safety and Security Board to advise on safe deployment in critical infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board (the Board). The Board will advise the Secretary, the critical infrastructure community, other private sector stakeholders, and the broader public on the safe and secure development and deployment of AI technology across the nation’s critical infrastructure.
Furthermore, the Board will develop recommendations to help critical infrastructure stakeholders, such as transportation service providers, pipeline and power grid operators, and internet service providers, more responsibly leverage AI technologies. It will also develop recommendations to prevent and prepare for AI-related disruptions to critical services that impact national or economic security, public health, or safety.
The move follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO), ‘Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,’ signed last October. In the EO, the President directed Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas to establish the AI Safety and Security Board to support the responsible development of AI. The President also directed DHS to promote the adoption of AI safety standards globally, protect U.S. networks and critical infrastructure, reduce the risks that AI can be used to create weapons of mass destruction, combat AI-related intellectual property theft, and help the U.S. attract and retain skilled talent, among other missions.
The Board aims to assist DHS in proactively addressing evolving threats from hostile nation-state actors to enhance national security through deterrence and prevention efforts. Chaired by Secretary Mayorkas, the Board will explore strategies to promote the safe and secure utilization of AI in critical infrastructure. President Biden tasked Secretary Mayorkas with establishing the Board, comprising 22 representatives from various sectors, including software and hardware companies, critical infrastructure operators, public officials, the civil rights community, and academia.
Secretary Mayorkas selected these experts to develop multifaceted, cross-sector approaches to pressing issues surrounding the benefits and risks of this emerging technology. It will convene for the first time in early May with subsequent meetings planned quarterly.
At the outset, the AI Safety and Security Board will provide the Secretary and the critical infrastructure community with actionable recommendations to ensure the safe adoption of AI technology in the essential services Americans depend upon every day and create a forum for DHS, the critical infrastructure community, and AI leaders to share information on the security risks presented by AI.
The inaugural members of the Board include Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder at Anthropic; Ed Bastian, CEO at Delta Air Lines; Rumman Chowdhury, Ph.D., CEO at Humane Intelligence; Alexandra Reeve Givens, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology; Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle, Washington; Chair, Technology and Innovation Committee, U.S. Conference of Mayors; Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum; Jensen Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA; Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM; and Fei-Fei Li, Ph.D., co-director at Stanford Human-centered Artificial Intelligence Institute.
The Board will also include Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland; Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO at Microsoft; Shantanu Narayen, chair and CEO of Adobe; Sundar Pichai, CEO at Alphabet; Arati Prabhakar, Ph.D., assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO at Cisco and Chair- Business Roundtable; Adam Selipsky, CEO at Amazon Web Services; Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD); Nicol Turner Lee, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution; Kathy Warden, Chair, CEO and president at Northrop Grumman; and Maya Wiley, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
“Artificial Intelligence is a transformative technology that can advance our national interests in unprecedented ways. At the same time, it presents real risks— risks that we can mitigate by adopting best practices and taking other studied, concrete actions,” Secretary Mayorkas said in a media statement. “I am grateful that such accomplished leaders are dedicating their time and expertise to the Board to help ensure our nation’s critical infrastructure—the vital services upon which Americans rely every day—effectively guards against the risks and realizes the enormous potential of this transformative technology.”
Last September, the DHS warned in its Homeland Threat Assessment of 2024 of the threat AI-assisted tools pose to the nation’s economic security and critical infrastructure, including how these technologies “have the potential to enable larger scale, faster, efficient, and more evasive cyber attacks—against targets, including pipelines, railways, and other US critical infrastructure.” It concludes that nation-states, including the People’s Republic of China, are developing “other AI technologies that could undermine U.S. cyber defenses, including generative AI programs that support malicious activity such as malware attacks.”
The launch of the board is a keystone of wide-ranging efforts within DHS to respond to the rapid emergence of AI technology.
To accelerate the deployment of AI and machine learning technologies throughout the Department, Secretary Mayorkas announced in February the Department’s first-ever hiring sprint to recruit 50 experts to better leverage these technologies across strategic areas of the homeland security enterprise. These include efforts to counter fentanyl, combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, deliver immigration services, secure travel, fortify our critical infrastructure, and enhance our cybersecurity.
DHS has received over 4,000 applications to date and is in the process of reviewing and hiring AI technologists to support mission-enhancing initiatives. The Department continues to accept applications at https://www.dhs.gov/ai/join.
DHS established last April the Department’s first AI Task Force and named Eric Hysen its first Chief AI Officer. The Task Force’s focus is on DHS’s entire mission space. For example, it is working to enhance the integrity of our supply chains and the broader trade environment by helping deploy AI to improve cargo screening, the identification of imported goods produced with forced labor, and risk management.
Last month, the DHS debuted its initial ‘Artificial Intelligence Roadmap’ that details the Department’s 2024 plans to responsibly leverage AI to advance homeland security missions while protecting individuals’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties; promote nationwide AI safety and security; and, continue to lead in AI through strong cohesive partnership.
Earlier this month, the U.S. administration revealed that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is releasing its initial government-wide policy to address risks linked to AI and capitalize on its advantages, aligning with Biden’s AI EO.
The Department of Energy (DOE) released on Monday a summary report on the potential benefits and risks of AI use for critical energy infrastructure, as part of the federal administration’s approach towards harnessing the benefits of AI and ensuring its responsible and safe deployment. The agency also provides an initial risk assessment on AI for the critical energy infrastructure.
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