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.

Annual Report

CSET at Five

Center for Security and Emerging Technology
| March 2024

In honor of CSET’s fifth birthday, this annual report is a look at CSET’s successes in 2023 and over the course of the past five years. It explores CSET’s different lines of research and cross-cutting projects, and spotlights some of its most impactful research products.

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Read our original translation of a 2021 Russian AI think tank report that provides an overview of Russia's AI landscape as of the end of 2020.

See our original translation of a 2021 PRC official document that offers guidelines for the protection of biodiversity in China.

Analysis

AI and the Future of Disinformation Campaigns

Katerina Sedova Christine McNeill Aurora Johnson Aditi Joshi Ido Wulkan
| December 2021

Artificial intelligence offers enormous promise to advance progress, and powerful capabilities to disrupt it. This policy brief is the first installment of a series that examines how advances in AI could be exploited to enhance operations that automate disinformation. Introducing the RICHDATA framework—a disinformation kill chain—this report describes the stages and techniques used by human operators to build disinformation campaigns.

Analysis

AI for Judges

Jamie Baker Laurie Hobart Matthew Mittelsteadt
| December 2021

As artificial intelligence transforms the economy and American society, it will also transform the practice of law and the role of courts in regulating its use. What role should, will, or might judges play in addressing the use of AI? And relatedly, how will AI and machine learning impact judicial practice in federal and state courts? This report is intended to provide a framework for judges to address AI.

Data Brief

Measuring AI Development

Jack Clark Kyle Miller Rebecca Gelles
| December 2021

By combining a versatile and frequently updated bibliometrics tool — the CSET Map of Science — with more hands-on analyses of technical developments, this brief outlines a methodology for measuring the publication growth of AI-related topics, where that growth is occurring, what organizations and individuals are involved, and when technical improvements in performance occur.

Data Snapshot

Exploring protein-folding AI research with the Map of Science

Sara Abdulla
| December 1, 2021

Data Snapshots are informative descriptions and quick analyses that dig into CSET’s unique data resources. Our first series of Snapshots introduced CSET’s Map of Science and explored the underlying data and analytic utility of this new tool, which enables users to interact with the Map directly.

Analysis

Key Concepts in AI Safety: Specification in Machine Learning

Tim G. J. Rudner Helen Toner
| December 2021

This paper is the fourth installment in a series on “AI safety,” an area of machine learning research that aims to identify causes of unintended behavior in machine learning systems and develop tools to ensure these systems work safely and reliably. The first paper in the series, “Key Concepts in AI Safety: An Overview,” outlined three categories of AI safety issues—problems of robustness, assurance, and specification—and the subsequent two papers described problems of robustness and assurance, respectively. This paper introduces specification as a key element in designing modern machine learning systems that operate as intended.

See our original translation of a 2020 document from China's standards-setting body calling for specific standards for AI technologies.

See our original translation of a Standards Development Announcement from China's state press agency, Xinhua News Agency.

See our original translation of a Chinese state-run think tank's report assessing the country's computing power.