The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established an AI Safety and Security Board and named 22 members, including tech firm executives and other experts in the field, according to an April 26 press release.
Among the members are OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and heads of major tech companies such as NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, and Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
The board also includes Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and other experts from various industries, including critical infrastructure operators, public officials, civil rights leaders, and academics.
The board’s inaugural meeting is set for May, where its main task will be to advise the DHS on the safe and responsible deployment of AI while addressing any related threats.
The focus of the initiative will be on AI in relation to 16 critical infrastructure sectors, including defense, energy, agriculture, transportation, and internet technology sectors.
This effort comes in response to the DHS’s 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment, which identified AI as a potential enabler of advanced cyber attacks against US infrastructure. It also aligns with the department’s Artificial Intelligence Roadmap, outlining plans to use AI in homeland security missions while protecting individuals’ privacy, rights, and civil liberties.
The establishment of the AI safety board follows the Biden administration’s October 2023 executive order on AI safety, which directed the DHS to set up the board and implement other requirements for the US government.
US federal agencies are currently appointing chief AI officers and establishing AI governance boards, while the DHS is actively recruiting AI experts in a “hiring sprint” to accelerate the deployment of AI and machine learning technologies within the department and address criminal activity and homeland security threats.
