Publications

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.

Analysis

AI Safety and Automation Bias

Lauren Kahn, Emelia Probasco, and Ronnie Kinoshita
| November 2024

Automation bias is a critical issue for artificial intelligence deployment. It can cause otherwise knowledgeable users to make crucial and even obvious errors. Organizational, technical, and educational leaders can mitigate these biases through training, design, and processes. This paper explores automation bias and ways to mitigate it through three case studies: Tesla’s autopilot incidents, aviation incidents at Boeing and Airbus, and Army and Navy air defense incidents.

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See our original translation of a 2022 white paper, co-authored by China’s prestigious Zhejiang University and Chinese tech company Baidu, that examines China’s system for AI training.

Data Brief

Mapping Biosafety Level-3 Laboratories by Publications

Caroline Schuerger, Sara Abdulla, and Anna Puglisi
| August 2022

Biosafety Level-3 laboratories (BSL-3) are an essential part of research infrastructure and are used to develop vaccines and therapies. The research conducted in them provides insights into host-pathogen interactions that may help prevent future pandemics. However, these facilities also potentially pose a risk to society through lab accidents or misuse. Despite their importance, there is no comprehensive list of BSL-3 facilities, or the institutions in which they are housed. By systematically assessing PubMed articles published in English from 2006-2021, this paper maps institutions that host BSL-3 labs by their locations, augmenting current knowledge of where high-containment research is conducted globally.

Data Visualization

Country Activity Tracker

Husanjot Chahal, Jennifer Melot, Sara Abdulla, Zachary Arnold, and Ilya Rahkovsky
| August 2022

CSET’s CAT presents data related to countries' artificial intelligence ecosystems to give an overview of domestic capabilities, as well as insights on competitiveness and collaboration globally. It presents metrics on AI research, patents, and investment-related activities for AI overall and its various subfields.

Data Snapshot

Views of AI PhD Recipients on Resources to Build the Domestic Talent Pool

Ronnie Kinoshita
| August 17, 2022

Data Snapshots are informative descriptions and quick analyses that dig into CSET’s unique data resources. This short series of Snapshots explores some of CSET’s original surveys. Check in every two weeks to see a Snapshot sharing what we learned from surveying AI researchers and professionals.

Read our original translation of the 2022 budget of the China Association of Science and Technology (CAST), a Communist Party-led professional association for Chinese scientists. CAST is funded by the Chinese government and promotes scientific ethics and science popularization. Among other projects, this year’s budget funds an effort to reform China’s Chinese- and English-language scientific journals.

Read our original translation of the 2022 budget of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a state-run body of professional Chinese engineers that provides technology policy advice to the Chinese government and runs laboratories focused on applied technology research.

Analysis

Will AI Make Cyber Swords or Shields?

Andrew Lohn and Krystal Jackson
| August 2022

Funding and priorities for technology development today determine the terrain for digital battles tomorrow, and they provide the arsenals for both attackers and defenders. Unfortunately, researchers and strategists disagree on which technologies will ultimately be most beneficial and which cause more harm than good. This report provides three examples showing that, while the future of technology is impossible to predict with certainty, there is enough empirical data and mathematical theory to have these debates with more rigor.

CSET Research Fellow Emily Weinstein testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission at a hearing on "Challenges from Chinese Policy in 2022: Zero-COVID, Ukraine, and Pacific Diplomacy." Weinstein proposed the creation of a new export control regime.

Analysis

U.S. High School Cybersecurity Competitions

Kayla Goode, Ali Crawford, and Christopher Back
| July 2022

In the current cyber-threat environment, a well-educated workforce is critical to U.S. national security. Today, however, nearly six hundred thousand cybersecurity positions remain unfilled across the public and private sectors. This report explores high school cybersecurity competitions as a potential avenue for increasing the domestic cyber talent pipeline. The authors examine the competitions, their reach, and their impact on students’ educational and professional development.

Analysis

Decoupling in Strategic Technologies

Tim Hwang and Emily S. Weinstein
| July 2022

Geopolitical tensions between the United States and China have sparked an ongoing dialogue in Washington about the phenomenon of “decoupling”—the use of public policy tools to separate the multifaceted economic ties that connect the two powers. This issue brief provides a historical lens on the efficacy of one specific aspect of this broader decoupling phenomenon: using export controls and related trade policies to prevent a rival from acquiring the equipment and know-how to catch up to the United States in cutting-edge, strategically important technologies.