Blog

Delve into insightful blog posts from CSET experts exploring the nexus of technology and policy. Navigate through in-depth analyses, expert op-eds, and thought-provoking discussions on inclusion and diversity within the realm of technology.

The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act has officially come into force today after more than five years of legislative processes and negotiations. While marking a significant milestone, it also initiates a prolonged phase of implementation, refinement, and enforcement. This blog post outlines key aspects of the regulation, such as rules for general-purpose AI and governance structures, and provides insights into its timeline and future expectations.

Assessment


Peer Watch


Filter entries

The EU AI Act: A Primer

Mia Hoffmann
| September 26, 2023

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: An Explainer

Chris Rohlf
| September 26, 2023

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.

Replicator: A Bold New Path for DoD

Michael O’Connor
| September 18, 2023

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.

Recent announcements from both Pentagon and Congressional leaders offer significant opportunity for rapidly delivering autonomous systems technology at-scale for U.S. Warfighters well into the future. Dr. Jaret Riddick, CSET Senior Fellow and former Principal Director for Autonomy in USD(R&E) offers his perspective on DOD’s Replicator Initiative and recent legislative proposals about DOD autonomy.

Universities can build more inclusive computer science programs by addressing the reasons that students may be deterred from pursuing the field. This blog post explores some of those reasons, features of CS education that cause them, and provides recommendations on how to design learning experiences that are safer and more exploratory for everyone.

Scoping AI for National Security: An Impossible Task?

Emily S. Weinstein and Ngor Luong
| August 28, 2023

On August 9, 2023 the Biden administration announced an executive order to restrict certain U.S. investments in China’s key technology sectors, including artificial intelligence. This blog post proposes implementing investment restrictions related to AI for national security using a list-based end-user approach that builds upon existing list-based tools.

A Summer Packed with AI Activity

Tessa Baker
| August 25, 2023

The Summer of 2023 will likely go down in the history books as the “Summer of AI”—with numerous advancements in LLMs and other generative AIs capturing the public’s consciousness. At the same time, the Biden administration announced multiple efforts to ensure the American public’s safety, security, and privacy, while ensuring the U.S. continues to lead the world in AI innovation. This blog post summarizes some of these major executive branch actions and highlights related CSET insights.

Understanding AI Harms: An Overview

Heather Frase and Owen Daniels
| August 11, 2023

As policymakers decide how best to regulate AI, they first need to grasp the different types of harm that various AI applications might cause at the individual, national, and even societal levels. To better understand AI harm, this blog post presents some key components and characteristics.

The much-anticipated National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES) provides a comprehensive set of strategic objectives for training and producing more cyber talent by prioritizing and encouraging the development of more localized cyber ecosystems that serve the needs of a variety of communities rather than trying to prescribe a blanket policy. This is a much-needed and reinvigorated approach that understands the unavoidable inequities in both cyber education and workforce development, but provides strategies for mitigating them. In this blog post, we highlight key elements that could be easily overlooked.