we must address the many ways in which artificial intelligence
will drastically alter the threat landscape and augment the arsenal of tools
we possess to succeed in the face of these threats.
Our department will lead in the responsible use of
AI to secure the homeland and to defending against the malicious use
of this transformational technology.
As we do this, we will ensure that our use of AI
is rigorously tested to avoid bias and disparate impact
and is clearly explainable to the people we serve.
I recently asked our Homeland Security Advisory Council co-chair
Jamie Gorelick is here to study the intersection of A.I.
and Homeland Security and deliver findings that will help guide
our use of it and defense against it.
The rapid pace of technological change, the pivotal moment
we are now in, requires that we also act today.
To that end,
I am directing the creation of our department's first
Artificial Intelligence Task Force that will drive specific applications of
AI to advance our critical Homeland Security missions.
The task force will, for example, integrate AI into our efforts to enhance
the integrity of our supply chains and the broader trade environment.
We will seek to deploy AI to more ably screen cargo,
identify the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and manage risk.
The task force will also, among other charges, leverage
AI to counter the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
We will explore using this technology to better detect fentanyl shipments,
identify and interdict the flow of precursor chemicals
around the world and target for disruption key nodes in the criminal networks
countering the
multifaceted threat posed by the PRC.
Learning from major cyber incidents and harnessing the power of AI to advance
our security will draw on the entirety of the capabilities and expertise.
The 260,000 personnel of DHS
bring to bear every single day.
It will require continued investment in our operational cohesion,
our ability to work together in ways
our founders never imagined.
We must never allow.
We must never allow ourselves to be susceptible
to failures of imagination, which, as the 911 Commission
concluded nearly 20 years ago, held us back from connecting the dots
and preparing for the destruction that was being planned on that tragic day.
We must instead look to the future
and imagine the otherwise unimaginable to ensure that whatever threats
we face, our department, our country will be positioned to meet the moment.