New AI National Security Mission

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The Biden White House has kicked off a new AI national security mission with the White House’s “first-ever National Security Memorandum (NSM) on Artificial Intelligence (AI).” With all the talk about AI filling the intertubes, apparently, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) decided it was time to put to guarding against concerns with AI while also taking a more proactive, positive stance. That includes improving the performance and efficiency of AI systems as well as strengthening the USA AI ecosystem.

“This first-ever National Security Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence establishes that retaining US leadership in the most advanced AI models will be vital for our national security and global competitiveness, while also ensuring the industry can grow rapidly, powered by clean energy investments,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE is committed, now more than ever, to harness frontier AI for our science, energy and national security mission, ensuring we have the infrastructure to power this critical technology for the years ahead.” That’s an optimistic take. Though, there’s also a nod there to one of the big challenges coming from the world’s growing demand for AI — extremely high energy needs, and the need for that energy to be clean and green.

“We are unique among federal agencies in the way we merge science and national security missions, bringing the incredible technical power of the national lab system to bear on complex issues,” said Undersecretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby. “AI is a game-changing technology, and the government has a responsibility to evaluate its potential impacts and harness AI for nuclear and national security missions.” Indeed.

To close, here are more specifics from the DOE:

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The NSM directs the Department to, among other activities:

• • Lead, via NNSA, the safety testing and systematic evaluations (including red teaming) of frontier AI models on behalf of the U.S. government to assess nuclear and radiological risk, and coordinate across the U.S. government on assessments of chemical, biological, and other threats;
  • Provide expertise, infrastructure, and facilities to support systematic testing and evaluation of AI models and systems;
  • Design and build large-scale facilities that can harness frontier AI for scientific research and intelligence analysis;
  • Evaluate the performance and efficiency of federated AI and data sources for frontier AI-scale training, fine-tuning, and inferencing;
  • Coordinate across the U.S. government to identify critical nodes in the AI supply chain, identify potential risks, and work to reduce such risks;
  • Lead efforts to streamline permitting, approvals, and incentives for the construction of AI-enabling infrastructure; and
  • Advance hiring and retention strategies to accelerate responsible AI adoption, including by identifying education and training opportunities.

The NSM builds on DOE’s longstanding leadership in AI development and DOE’s recently announced Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) initiative to help harness AI in the national interest. Through FASST, DOE and its 17 national laboratories aim to build the world’s most powerful, integrated scientific AI systems for science, national security, and energy, in collaboration with academic and industry partners.

For more information regarding the National Security Memorandum, please visit this website.