News Releases

Patrick J. McGovern Foundation Gives CSET $250,000 Grant to Promote Cyber and AI Research

December 21, 2021

CSET's new grant will contribute to CyberAI's research and its work to broaden the talent pipeline for cybersecurity and AI

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The  Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), a think tank at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, has received a new grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to support CSET’s CyberAI project.

Committed to bridging the frontiers of artificial intelligence, data science, and social impact, the foundation awarded the project a $250,000 grant for research on the cybersecurity and AI talent pipeline and uses of AI for cyber defense.

CyberAI was created in January 2020 with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to focus on issues at the intersection of cyber and AI. CyberAI’s work covers topics ranging from technical analysis of machine learning vulnerabilities to primers for policymakers to open-source investigations. As is true across all of CSET, CyberAI strives to combine a strong understanding of the technologies at hand with a high-level picture of their strategic and policy relevance, and to blend analytic rigor with clear writing and practical takeaways to produce grounded, insightful contributions that inform policymakers and support better policy decisions.

“With this funding, we hope to highlight the current barriers to cybersecurity and AI education at the high school level. We are seeking to identify practical steps that educators and supporters of cyber education and talent development can take to broaden opportunities for young, aspiring students – particularly women, minority populations, and students in rural and low-income areas,” CyberAI Project Director John Bansemer said. “We are so grateful to the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation as this funding allows us to expand our work into the highly relevant area of cyber and AI talent.”

CyberAI seeks to understand how advances in AI may alter the current state of cybersecurity and, conversely, how the cybersecurity of AI systems affects their safe and trusted development, fielding and operations.

“The new grant is an affirming vote of confidence,” noted CSET Director Dewey Murdick. “It is gratifying that as we continue to expand our efforts in this area, another funder has seen the  importance of this work at the junction of cybersecurity and AI.”

Founded in early 2019, CSET produces data-driven research at the intersection of security and technology, providing nonpartisan analysis to the policy community.

For more information please contact Adrienne Thompson at Adrienne.Thompson@georgetown.edu