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

Repurposing the Wheel: Lessons for AI Standards

Mina Narayanan, Alexandra Seymour, Heather Frase, and Karson Elmgren
| November 2023

Standards enable good governance practices by establishing consistent measurement and norms for interoperability, but creating standards for AI is a challenging task. The Center for Security and Emerging Technology and the Center for a New American Security hosted a series of workshops in the fall of 2022 to examine standards development in the areas of finance, worker safety, cybersecurity, sustainable buildings, and medical devices in order to apply the lessons learned in these domains to AI. This workshop report summarizes our findings and recommendations.

Reports

Assessing China’s AI Workforce

Dahlia Peterson, Ngor Luong, and Jacob Feldgoise
| November 2023

Demand for talent is one of the core elements of technological competition between the United States and China. In this issue brief, we explore demand signals in China’s domestic AI workforce in two ways: geographically and within the defense and surveillance sectors. Our exploration of job postings from Spring 2021 finds that more than three-quarters of all AI job postings are concentrated in just three regions: the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pearl River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area.

Translation

Translation Snapshot: Chinese AI White Papers

Ben Murphy
| November 29, 2023

Translation Snapshots are short posts that highlight related translations produced by CSET’s in-house translation team. Each snapshot identifies relevant translations, provides short summaries, and links to the full translations. Check back regularly for additional Translation Snapshots highlighting our work.

Read our translation of an announcement by a Chinese Communist Party-run association for scientists that names 28 questions as China’s outstanding S&T issues and challenges of 2023.

Read our translation of a Chinese government policy for the near-term development of computing power.

Data Brief

Spurring Science

Christian Schoeberl and Hanna Dohmen
| November 2023

This data brief analyzes over 200,000 U.S. government grants awarded to industry and academic recipients for artificial intelligence research between January 2017 and May 2023. The authors find that while the majority of federal grants are awarded to academic recipients, industry played an outsized role in U.S. government grant funding of AI research. Moreover, departments within the U.S. Department of Defense appear to prioritize funding industry and AI research relative to other funding agencies.

Read our translation of a Beijing municipal government plan identifies 20 “future industries” that Beijing is targeting with favorable industrial policies.

AI has the potential to revolutionize approaches to climate change research. Using CSET's Map of Science, this data brief maps the production of research publications at the intersection of AI and climate change to better understand how AI methods are being applied to climate change-related research.

Data Snapshot

BIS Best Data Practices: Part 2

Christian Schoeberl
| November 16, 2023

Data Snapshots are informative descriptions and quick analyses that dig into CSET’s unique data resources. This is the second installment of a two-part series of data snapshots that explores export control data from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), namely the 2021 and 2022 yearly reports for trade with China and Hong Kong.

Data Brief

The Antimicrobial Resistance Research Landscape and Emerging Solutions

Vikram Venkatram and Katherine Quinn
| November 2023

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the world’s most pressing global health threats. Basic research is the first step towards identifying solutions. This brief examines the AMR research landscape since 2000, finding that the amount of research is increasing and that the U.S. is a leading publisher, but also that novel solutions like phages and synthetic antimicrobial production are a small portion of that research.