The head of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called on government organisations to be faster and more agile in developing and working with artificial intelligence tools.
Speaking at the Dreamforce 2024 event in San Francisco, U.S. DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas noted that there was a desire to do more with AI in government, but some obstacles remained.
When asked by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff what the biggest surprise was about working with tech giants, Secretary Mayorkas noted, “the sense of collaboration in taking advantage of the incredible opportunity that AI presents.”
Realizing the potential
“AI technology is amazing, but it can move in directions we don't want it to go,” Benioff had told Mayorkas during their conversation.
In response, Mayorkas noted that many people believe his agency has a mindset of imposing restrictions on AI development and innovation, but this is not the case.
“What we want to do is create the space for their potential to be realized,” he replied. “We also want to demonstrate the impact that businesses can have on the progress of our world, and I want to demonstrate that government can move at the speed of business, that we can leverage AI to advance our mission, while protecting the security of our nation's critical infrastructure.”
“The level of partnership and collaboration, and the sense of hope in terms of what this technology can mean for the world, I think is amazing.”
Mayorkas also sought to outline the role of DHS’s AI Safety and Security Board, where he says the key is to develop a framework that includes and takes into account the entire ecosystem: developers, cloud computing, the entities that use AI.
“The key is to develop a framework,” he said, “that is not just aimed at model developers, but really includes and takes into account the entire ecosystem: the model developers, the cloud computing, the infrastructure entities that will take the AI and use it in their operations.”
“What we're trying to do is capture the entire ecosystem and speak to them with a framework that defines roles and responsibilities, where everyone has a role to play and everyone has responsibilities to fulfill in a very socially responsible way or this incredible technology…”
“The magic is bringing everyone together: collaboration and collective action are key,” Mayorkas adds. “I think it's very important to bring everyone around the table and work towards a common goal.”
