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In a first-of-its-kind collaboration with industry and the AI supply chain, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released its recommendations for the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in critical infrastructure Thursday.
The recommendations lays out clear guidance on how the AI supply chain can work in concert to ensure AI is deployed safety and securely across critical infrastructure. The framework was developed using guidance from the public and private sector as well, officials said, including working carried out by Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, and guidance from the AI Safety Institute.
“AI offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the strength and resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure, and we must seize it while minimizing its potential harms. The Framework, if widely adopted, will go a long way to better ensure the safety and security of critical services that deliver clean water, consistent power, internet access, and more,” DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said. “The choices organizations and individuals involved in creating AI make today will determine the impact this technology will have in our critical infrastructure tomorrow. I am grateful for the diverse expertise of the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board and its members, each of whom informed these guidelines with their own real-world experiences developing, deploying, and promoting the responsible use of this extraordinary technology.”
The recommendations will help infrastructure systems avoid risks and identify security vulnerabilities by addressing three categories, attacks using AI, attacks targeting AI systems, and design and implementation failures.
If adopted and implemented, officials said, the framework will enhance operational safety and security practices, improve critical services delivery, enhance trust and transparency among entities, and advance AI safety and security research that would allow for more deployment of emerging technology in critical infrastructure.
“Ensuring the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI is vital to the future of American innovation and critical to our national security. This new Framework will complement the work we’re doing at the Department of Commerce to help ensure AI is responsibly deployed across our critical infrastructure to help protect our fellow Americans and secure the future of the American economy,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.