May 1st — In the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released new resources that are intended to help address emerging threats posed by artificial intelligence.

The resources include guidelines that focus on reducing AI risks to critical infrastructure. The guidelines aim to limit AI misuse during the development and production of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials.

Related developments

In April, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, comprised of technology executives, critical infrastructure executives, civil rights leaders, academics and policymakers, among others.

“AI can present transformative solutions for U.S. critical infrastructure, and it also carries the risk of making those systems vulnerable in new ways…” said Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas.

“Our Department is taking steps to identify and mitigate those threats.”

Critical infrastructure focus

As noted previously, the newly released guidelines were created with an eye towards critical infrastructure. A four-part mitigation strategy, based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) AI risk management framework, highlights the importance of strong governance, mapping individual AI use context and risk profiles, measuring and tracking of AI risks and more.

Development included participation from the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), which helped to identify and analyze the risk of AI misuse in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear weapons development.

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