As the agency charged with protecting the American homeland and its citizens, the Department of Homeland Security is undertaking a myriad of initiatives aimed at better securing the nation from emerging threats. And in the age of artificial intelligence, it’s no surprise that DHS is deploying AI to execute some of its critical homeland security missions.
Here’s a look at how DHS is approaching AI.
If you’re interested in DHS’s AI initiatives, you won’t want to miss the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit this fall on Nov. 13. The nation’s foremost homeland security decision makers, experts and leaders will come together to discuss homeland security threats and what’s being done to thwart them. Register now for the 2024 Homeland Security Summit.
DHS’ AI Roadmap
In March, DHS released a roadmap designed to guide the agency’s development and use of AI. The AI Roadmap consists of three lines of effort: responsibly leveraging AI to advance homeland security missions, promoting nationwide AI safety and security and continuing to lead in AI through strong cohesive partnerships.
“The DHS AI roadmap and pilots will guide our efforts this year to strengthen our national security, improve our operations, and provide more efficient services to the American people, while upholding our commitment to protect civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a previous Wash100 Award winner.
Alongside the AI Roadmap, DHS also announced three new pilot projects focused on AI:
- Homeland Security Investigations plans to use a large language model to transform the process around security investigations.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency will use generative AI to help local governments be more efficient in their hazard mitigation planning processes.
- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will also use generative AI to help improve immigration officer training.
DHS AI Corps
DHS launched a new initiative in February to hire 50 artificial intelligence experts in an effort to build up the agency’s first-ever “AI Corps.” Michael Boyce was appointed director of the AI Corps in April, and the first ten members of the group were selected in June.
“The DHS AI Corps will enable the Department of Homeland Security to keep up with the pace of innovation as we enhance our work combating fentanyl traffickers, rescuing victims of child sexual exploitation, countering cyberattacks, assessing disaster damage, and much more,” Mayorkas said of the initiative.
USCIS Gen AI Pilot Program
USCIS launched a program in July that uses generative AI to help train officers. The program will use generative AI tools to simulate conversations that officers might have with individuals seeking refugee status.
And in this case, some of generative AI’s most common pitfalls — like hallucinations and unpredictability — could actually be useful.
“I also want them to hallucinate and I want them to be a little inaccurate because you’re often, in real life, working with an interpreter and there’s a lot of confusion and a lot of sort of dropped things, or things that don’t quite line up or make perfect sense,” said AI Corps Director Michael Boyce.
DHS AI Safety & Security Board
In an effort to approach AI in a safe, responsible and secure manner, DHS established an AI Safety and Security Board that will help guide the agency’s adoption of the technology.
The board is led by Mayorkas and consists of GovCon industry and commercial technology leaders including Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden (a Wash100 awardee), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Arati Prabhakar of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
“I am grateful that such accomplished leaders are dedicating their time and expertise to the board to help ensure our nation’s critical infrastructure effectively guards against the risks and realizes the enormous potential of this transformative technology,” Mayorkas said.
Learn more about DHS’ AI efforts at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 13. Register for the Homeland Security Summit today to join the conversation.
