Biden’s Homeland Security team taps tech elite for AI defense board

April 27, 2024

44 1 minute read

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the formation of an Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board composed of a veritable who’s who of tech CEOs, academics and influential business leaders.

Created under the direction of U.S. President Joseph Biden, the purpose of the new board is to advise DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the White House on matters related to artificial intelligence. Specifically, the board will “develop recommendations to help critical infrastructure stakeholders,” and “develop recommendations to prevent and prepare for AI-related disruptions to critical services that impact national or economic security, public health, or safety.”

CEOs from Adobe, Alphabet, Anthropic, AMD, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, Delta Air Lines, Humane Intelligence, Occidental Petroleum and Northrop Grumman make up the business sector of the board. They’re joined by academics from universities, civil rights and humanitarian institutions, the mayor of Seattle, Washington, and the governor of Maryland.

Notably, neither Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, nor Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, appear as members of the board despite heading up artificial intelligence companies associated with the other technology firms on the list.

Secretary Mayorkas said in a statement that he was grateful for the participation of the U.S. AI sector’s elite:

“Artificial Intelligence is a transformative technology that can advance our national interests in unprecedented ways. At the same time, it presents real risks— risks that we can mitigate by adopting best practices and taking other studied, concrete actions. I am grateful that such accomplished leaders are dedicating their time and expertise to the Board to help ensure our nation’s critical infrastructure—the vital services upon which Americans rely every day—effectively guards against the risks and realizes the enormous potential of this transformative technology.”

According to a document published by DHS, the board’s primary function is to advance the “responsible development and deployment” of AI technologies.

While the AI sector continues to boom in the U.S. market, it remains largely unregulated in comparison to the EU’s tech industry. Analysts question whether Europe’s more hands-on approach to regulating firms operating within its economic area better serves citizen security and privacy.