Data Snapshots are informative descriptions and quick analyses that dig into CSET’s unique data resources. This three-part series uses data from a variety of sources to track how three cloud providers—Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft—distribute their financial resources to create and sustain demand for their cloud services. By investing in data centers & workforce training, the large tech platforms of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft draw developers, companies, and governments to their tools & services.

Computer scientists have long sought to build systems that can actively and autonomously carry out complicated goals in the real world—commonly referred to as artificial intelligence "agents." Recently, significant progress in large language models has fueled new optimism about the prospect of building sophisticated AI agents. This CSET-led workshop report synthesizes findings from a May 2024 workshop on this topic, including what constitutes an AI agent, how the technology is improving, what risks agents exacerbate, and intervention points that could help.

As critical infrastructure operators and providers seek to harness the benefits of new artificial intelligence capabilities, they must also manage associated risks from both AI-enabled cyber threats and potential vulnerabilities in deployed AI systems. In June 2024, CSET led a workshop to assess these issues. This report synthesizes our findings, drawing on lessons from cybersecurity and insights from critical infrastructure sectors to identify challenges and potential risk mitigations associated with AI adoption.

This publication examines how emerging AI tools—including LLM-based chatbots and biological design tools—are reshaping the biosecurity landscape for commercial DNA synthesis.

In February 2024, CSET introduced its new cybersecurity jobs dataset, a novel resource comprising ~1.4 million LinkedIn profiles of current U.S. cybersecurity workers. This data snapshot uses the dataset to identify top-producing institutions of cybersecurity talent.

President Biden's October 2023 executive order prioritizes the governance of artificial intelligence in the federal government, prompting the urgent creation of AI risk management standards and procurement guidelines. Soon after the order's signing, the Office of Management and Budget issued guidance for federal departments and agencies, including minimum risk standards for AI in federal contracts. Similar to cybersecurity, procurement rules will be used to enforce AI development best practices for federal suppliers. This report offers recommendations for implementing AI risk management procurement rules.

Medical artificial intelligence, which depends on large repositories of biological data, can improve public health and contribute to the growing global bioeconomy. Countries that strategically prioritize medical AI could benefit from a competitive advantage and set global norms. This report examines China’s stated goals for medical AI, finding that the country’s strategy for biodata collection and medical AI development positions it to be an economic and technological leader in this sector.

As the U.S. government considers banning genomics companies from China, it opens a broader question about how the United States and other market economies should deal with China’s “national champions.” This paper provides an overview of one such company—BGI—and how China’s industrial policy impacts technology development in China and around the world.

Research participants who read propaganda generated by GPT-3 davinci (a large language model) were nearly as persuaded as those who read real propaganda from Iran or Russia, according to a new peer-reviewed study by Josh A. Goldstein and co-authors.

This data snapshot is the first in a series on CSET’s cybersecurity jobs data, a new dataset created by classifying data from 513 million LinkedIn user profiles. Here, we offer an overview of its creation and explore some use cases for analysis.