DHS Forms Expert Panel to Guide Use of AI in Critical Infrastructure Defense Against AI Attacks amidst Government Collaboration with Industry in Addressing AI Benefits vs Risks without Targeted National Laws.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested guidance on how to utilize AI technology created by leading artificial intelligence companies in order to defend critical infrastructure against potential attacks that are also powered by AI. The panel, which will include CEOs from major tech and defense firms such as Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Northrop Grumman, Delta Air Lines, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, Cisco Systems, AMD, Anthropic, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, federal, state and local government officials as well as prominent academics in AI such as Fei-Fei Li from Stanford University’s Human-centered Artificial Intelligence Institute. The group will offer recommendations to telecommunications companies, pipeline operators, electric utilities, and other sectors on how they can responsibly use AI while also preparing them for potential disruptions caused by AI technology. This move reflects the US government’s close collaboration with private industry as it addresses both the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence in light of a lack of targeted national legislation regarding this emerging field. The panel’s formation is an outcome of President Joe Biden’s 2023 executive order, which called for cross-industry recommendations to improve security, resilience, and incident response related to AI usage within critical infrastructure. Additionally, the US government has implemented new rules regulating how federal agencies can acquire and utilize artificial intelligence in their systems as a result of Biden’s 2023 executive order. The DHS notes that while AI is transformative technology with significant potential benefits for national interests, it also presents real risks which could be mitigated by following best practices or taking concrete actions such as preparing against disruptive impacts on critical infrastructure resulting from AI implementation and utilization within relevant industries including transportation systems and electrical power generation networks.