Reports

CSET produces evidence-driven analysis in a variety of forms, from informative graphics and translations to expert testimony and published reports. Our key areas of inquiry are the foundations of artificial intelligence — such as talent, data and computational power — as well as how AI can be used in cybersecurity and other national security settings. We also do research on the policy tools that can be used to shape AI’s development and use, and on biotechnology.

Report

CSET’s 2024 Annual Report

Center for Security and Emerging Technology
| March 2025

In 2024, CSET continued to deliver impactful, data-driven analysis at the intersection of emerging technology and security policy. Explore our annual report to discover key research highlights, expert testimony, and new analytical tools — all aimed at shaping informed, strategic decisions around AI and emerging tech.

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Reports

Physical AI

John VerWey
| February 2026

This paper examines the convergence of artificial intelligence and robotics, analyzing the emerging field of Physical AI. It provides a detailed overview of the supply chain challenges, competitive dynamics, and policy considerations that define this potentially transformative emerging technology.

Reports

When AI Builds AI

Helen Toner, Kendrea Beers, Steve Newman, Saif M. Khan, Colin Shea-Blymyer, Evelyn Yee, Ashwin Acharya, Kathleen Fisher, Keller Scholl, Peter Wildeford, Ryan Greenblatt, Samuel Albanie, Stephanie Ballard, and Thomas Larsen
| January 2026

Leading artificial intelligence companies have started to use their own systems to accelerate research and development, with each generation of AI systems contributing to building the next generation. This report distills points of consensus and disagreement from our July 2025 expert workshop on how far the automation of AI R&D could go, laying bare crucial underlying assumptions and identifying what new evidence could shed light on the trajectory going forward.

CSET submitted the following response to the White House Office of Science and Technology in support of its "Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise initiative.

Reports

The Use of Open Models in Research

Kyle Miller, Mia Hoffmann, and Rebecca Gelles
| October 2025

This report analyzes over 250 scientific publications that use open language models in ways that require access to model weights and derives a taxonomy of use cases that open weights enable. The authors identified a diverse range of seven open-weight use cases that allow researchers to investigate a wider scope of questions, explore more avenues of experimentation, and implement a larger set of techniques.

In the second installation of our blog series analyzing 147 AI-related laws enacted by Congress between January 2020 and March 2025 from AGORA, we explore the governance strategies, risk-related concepts, and harms addressed in the legislation. In the first blog, we showed that the majority of these AI-related legislative documents were drawn from National Defense Authorization Acts and apply to national security contexts.

Reports

Harmonizing AI Guidance: Distilling Voluntary Standards and Best Practices into a Unified Framework

Kyle Crichton, Abhiram Reddy, Jessica Ji, Ali Crawford, Mia Hoffmann, Colin Shea-Blymyer, and John Bansemer
| September 2025

Organizations looking to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) systems face the challenge of deciphering a myriad of voluntary standards and best practices—requiring time, resources, and expertise that many cannot afford. To address this problem, this report distills over 7,000 recommended practices from 52 reports into a single harmonized framework. Integrating new AI guidance with existing safety and security practices, this work provides a road map for organizations navigating the complex landscape of AI guidance.

Reports

Biotech Manufacturing Apprenticeships

Luke Koslosky, Steph Batalis, and Ronnie Kinoshita
| August 2025

This report examines lessons from the North Carolina Life Sciences Apprenticeship Consortium for pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing workforce development, and analyzes how apprenticeship programs help address workforce shortages in emerging tech fields. It offers a practical framework with important considerations for designing and launching programs, and serves as a resource for employers, regional leaders, and policymakers seeking to build a more resilient and technically skilled workforce.

Data Snapshot

The NIH’s Impact on Research and Innovation

Katherine Quinn, Steph Batalis, and Rebecca Gelles
| August 7, 2025

Data Snapshots are informative descriptions and quick analyses that dig into CSET’s unique data resources. This three-part series introduces CSET’s patent clusters, which connect related patents through citations and text similarity.

Data Visualization

Exploring AI legislation in Congress with AGORA: Origin and Application Domains

Mina Narayanan and Sonali Subbu Rathinam
| July 23, 2025

In this two-part analysis, we use data from the Emerging Technology Observatory's AGORA to explore AI-related legislation that was enacted by Congress between January 2020 and March 2025. This first blog explores the origin and application domains of the AI-related legislation we reviewed. The second blog examines the governance strategies, risk-related concepts, and harms covered by this legislation.

Reports

The Future of Work-Based Learning for Cyber Jobs

Ali Crawford
| July 2025

This roundtable report explores how practitioners, researchers, educators, and government officials view work-based learning as a tool for strengthening the cybersecurity workforce. Participants engaged in an enriching discussion that ultimately provided insight and context into what makes work-based learning unique, effective, and valuable for the cyber workforce.