Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has announced the creation of a task force that will assess the ways artificial intelligence can be used to detect shipments of dangerous fentanyl to the U.S., screen cargo and take on other tasks aimed at shoring up U.S. national security.
“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,” Mayorkas said.
“Countering the multi-faceted 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,” he said. “It will require continued investment in our operational cohesion, our ability to work together in ways our founders never imagined.”
DHS said the task force has 60 days to develop a plan for using AI for these and other purposes. Among other things, DHS imagines using AI to more efficiently conduct cargo screenings and identify goods that might have been produced with forced labour.
AI might also be used to fight inflows of fentanyl. “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,” DHS said.
