The US Homeland Security Department is creating an artificial intelligence (AI) taskforce after the explosive rise in popularity of programs like ChatGPT — which can be freely used to perpetuate advanced cybercrimes.
AI programs have left many countries scrambling over how to regulate its use and protect themselves against threat actors who use the programs to create malicious malware or code intended on sewing chaos and discord. Recently, Italy banned ChatGPT, and the US has been working on finding its own solutions.
The US Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas reported on Friday that they were creating a new task force focused on using AI as an aid in improving national security. This comes during the department’s 90-day sprint to reinforce national security against foreign threats, outlining the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) as the biggest threat to national security.
The goals of the AI task force are extremely broad, and practically all-encompassing for everyday security needs.
- Protect the integrity of supply chains, using systems like advanced cargo screening to detect products made with forced (slave) labor.
- Prevent the flow of Fentanyl and other illegal substances in the US.
- Detect and prevent heinous child abuse and trafficking, and to arrest those responsible for such crimes.
- Work with governments, industries, and academia to protect critical infrastructure and key vulnerabilities from hacks and malware.
- Reviewing and implementing the Homeland Security Advisory Council’s (HSAC) findings regarding the intersection of AI and homeland security.
“The profound evolution in the homeland security threat environment, changing at a pace faster than ever before, has required our Department of Homeland Security to evolve along with it,” said Alejandro. “We must never allow ourselves to be susceptible to failures of imagination.
“We must instead look to the future and imagine the otherwise unimaginable, to ensure that whatever threats we face, our Department — our country — will be positioned to meet the moment.”