Center for Security and Emerging Technology

Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Formation2019; 6 years ago (2019)
TypeThink tank
PurposeTechnology & security
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
Founding Director
Jason Gaverick Matheny
Executive Director
Dewey Murdick
Parent organization
School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Websitecset.georgetown.edu Edit this at Wikidata

The Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) is a think tank dedicated to policy analysis at the intersection of national and international security and emerging technologies, based at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Its mission is to study the security impacts of emerging technologies by analyzing data, supporting academic work in security and technology studies, and delivering nonpartisan analysis to the policy community.[1] CSET focuses particularly on the intersection of security and artificial intelligence (AI).[2] It addresses topics such as national competitiveness,[3] opportunities related to AI,[4] talent and knowledge flows,[5] AI safety assessments,[6] and AI applications in biotechnology[7] and computer security.[8]

CSET's founding director, Jason Gaverick Matheny, previously served as the director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.[9] Its current executive director is Dewey Murdick, former Chief Analytics Officer and Deputy Chief Scientist within the Department of Homeland Security.[10]

Established in January 2019, CSET has received more than $57,000,000 in funding from the Open Philanthropy Project,[11] the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,[12] and the Public Interest Technology University Network. CSET has faced criticism over its ties to the effective altruism movement.[13]

Publications

CSET produces a biweekly newsletter, policy.ai.[14] It has published research on various aspects of the intersection between artificial intelligence and security, including changes to the U.S. AI workforce,[15] immigration laws' effect on the AI sector,[16] and technology transfer overseas.[17] Its research output includes policy briefs and longer published reports.[18]

A study[19] published in January 2023 by CSET, OpenAI, and the Stanford Internet Observatory and covered by Forbes cited that "There are also possible negative applications of generative language models, or 'language models' for short. For malicious actors looking to spread propaganda—information designed to shape perceptions to further an actor’s interest—these language models bring the promise of automating the creation of convincing and misleading text for use in influence operations, rather than having to rely on human labor."[20]

In May 2023, Chinese officials announced that they would be closing some of the access that foreign countries had into their public information as a result of studies from think tanks like CSET, citing concerns about cooperation between the U.S. military and the private sector.[21]

In a September 2024 testimony before the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, former CSET employee Anna B. Puglisi stated that she received legal threats of libel from BGI Group for a report she wrote while serving at CSET and had been refused legal indemnity from Georgetown University for the report.[22] Following the testimony, a Georgetown University representative stated that it "stand[s] fully behind the report" and is "prepared to defend the report and its authors should the letters lead to formal legal action."[22]

References

  1. ^ "About Us". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. January 2019. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  2. ^ "Georgetown launches new $55 million center on security & emerging technology". Institute for Technology, Law and Policy. February 28, 2019. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "Compete". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  4. ^ "Applications". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  5. ^ "Workforce". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  6. ^ "Assessment". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  7. ^ "Bio-Risk". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  8. ^ "CyberAI". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  9. ^ Anderson, Nick (February 28, 2019). "Georgetown launches think tank on security and emerging technology". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  10. ^ "Dewey Murdick". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  11. ^ "Georgetown University — Center for Security and Emerging Technology". Open Philanthropy Project. January 2019. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  12. ^ "Hewlett Foundation". October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on September 23, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  13. ^ Bordelon, Brendan (October 13, 2023). "How a billionaire-backed network of AI advisers took over Washington". Politico. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  14. ^ "Newsletters". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  15. ^ "U.S. AI Workforce". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. April 2021. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  16. ^ "Immigration Policy and the U.S. AI Sector" (PDF). Center for Security and Emerging Technology. September 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  17. ^ "China's Access to Foreign AI Technology" (PDF). Center for Security and Emerging Technology. September 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  18. ^ "Georgetown University". September 2019. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  19. ^ Goldstein, Josh A.; Sastry, Girish; Musser, Micah; DiResta, Renee; Gentzel, Matthew; Sedova, Katerina (January 2023). "Generative Language Models and Automated Influence Operations: Emerging Threats and Potential Mitigations" (PDF). cdn.openai.com. arXiv:2301.04246. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  20. ^ Vigdor, Dan. "Council Post: How Could Artificial Intelligence Impact Cybersecurity?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  21. ^ "China limits overseas access to data". Taipei Times. Bloomberg News. 2023-05-09. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  22. ^ a b Quinn, Jimmy (2024-09-23). "Ex-Georgetown Researcher Claims School Has Withheld Support amid Chinese Biotech Firm's Threats". National Review. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-23.