Recent advances in general-purpose artificial intelligence systems have sparked interest in where the frontier of the field might move next—and what policymakers can do to manage emerging risks. This blog post summarizes key takeaways from a series of workshops on these topics that CSET cohosted with the Center for a New American Security in August 2023.

On September 19, 2023, one of us had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, chaired by Senator Maggie Hassan. Members of the subcommittee asked for an actionable plan for the U.S. government (USG) to address concerns about emerging technologies, like AI, synthetic biology and genetic engineering, and quantum technologies. This blog post endeavors to summarize near term policy recommendations based on CSET research as well as our best guesses about what is needed to address emerging concerns about these technologies.

This blog post by CSET’s Executive Director Dewey Murdick explores two different metaphorical lenses for governing the frontier of AI. The "Space Exploration Approach" likens AI models to spacecrafts venturing into unexplored territories, requiring detailed planning and regular updates. The "Snake-Filled Garden Approach" views AI as a garden with both harmless and dangerous 'snakes,' necessitating rigorous testing and risk assessment. In the post, Dewey examines these metaphors and the different ways they can inform approaches to AI governance strategy that balances innovation with safety, all while emphasizing the importance of ongoing learning and adaptability.

“AI red-teaming” is currently a hot topic, but what does it actually mean? This blog post explains the term’s cybersecurity origins, why AI red-teaming should incorporate cybersecurity practices, and how its evolving definition and sometimes inconsistent usage can be misleading for policymakers interested in exploring testing requirements for AI systems.

The August 9 Executive Order aims to restrict certain U.S. investments in key technology areas. In a previous post, we proposed an end-user approach to crafting an AI investment prohibition. In this follow-on post, we rely on existing and hypothetical transactions to test scenarios where U.S. investments in China’s AI ecosystem would or would not be covered under the proposed program, and highlight outstanding challenges.

Check out our overview of tech-related provisions in the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

The EU AI Act is nearing formal adoption and implementation. Read this blog post, with updated analysis following the December 2023 political agreement, by CSET’s resident EU expert and Research Fellow, Mia Hoffmann. Learn what we know about the Act and what it means for AI regulation in the EU (and the world).

Memory safety issues remain endemic in cybersecurity and are often seen as a never-ending source of cyber vulnerabilities. Recently the topic has increased in prominence with the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) releasing a request for comments on how to strengthen the open-source ecosystem. But what exactly is memory safety? This blog describes the historical antecedents in computing that helped create one aspect of today’s insecure cyber ecosystem. There will be no quick fixes, but there is encouraging progress towards addressing these long-standing security issues.

On September 8, 2023, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) released their Bipartisan Framework on AI Legislation. The framework includes many ideas and recommendations that CSET research has highlighted over the past four years. This blog post highlights some of the most relevant reports and CSET’s perspective on the framework’s elements.

The Replicator effort by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is intended to overcome some of the military challenges posed by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This blog post intends to both identify tradeoffs for the Department to consider as it charts the path for Replicator, and to provide a sense for the state of industry readiness to support.