Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a Wash100 awardee, has established a new DHS task force focused on artificial intelligence and a 90-day sprint to counter the threats posed by China.
The newly created AI task force will pursue four key tasks, the first two of which are integrating AI into efforts to enhance the integrity of supply chains and the broader trade environment and leveraging the technology to counter the flow of fentanyl into the country, DHS said Friday.
The other two priority tasks are applying AI to digital forensic tools to help identify and rescue victims of online child sexual exploitation and abuse and working with government, industry and academic partners to evaluate the impact of AI on the ability to ensure the security of critical infrastructure.
In a memo issued Thursday, Mayorkas directed Dimitri Kusnezov, undersecretary for science and technology at DHS, and Eric Hysen, the department’s chief information officer, to serve as co-chairs of the AI task force, which will develop a concept of operations and a progress report on the four initiatives within 60 days.
The departmentwide sprint will look at evolving threats in six key areas, such as defending critical infrastructure, protecting against China’s malign economic influence and advancing safety, security and economic prosperity in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific.
