The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced its first “Artificial Intelligence Roadmap”, which includes tests of the technologies that deliver meaningful benefits to the American public and advance homeland security, while ensuring that individuals’ privacy, civil rights and civil liberties are protected.

As part of the roadmap, DHS reports three innovative pilot projects that will deploy AI in specific mission areas.

AI testing

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) says it will test AI to enhance investigative processes focused on detecting fentanyl and increasing efficiency of investigations related to combatting child sexual exploitation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will deploy AI to help communities plan for and develop hazard mitigation plans to build resilience and minimize risks.

Not only this, but United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will use AI to improve immigration officer training.

Strengthening national security

“The unprecedented speed and potential of AI’s development and adoption presents both enormous opportunities to advance our mission and risks we must mitigate,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.

“The DHS AI roadmap and pilots will guide our efforts this year to strengthen our national security, improve our operations and provide more efficient services to the American people, while upholding our commitment to protect civil rights, civil liberties and privacy.

“What we learn from the pilot projects will be beneficial in shaping how the Department can effectively and responsibly use AI across the homeland security enterprise moving forward.”

DHS’s three new pilot programs will allow the Department to assess the efficacy of AI in improving its mission capabilities.

Each pilot team is partnering with privacy, cybersecurity and civil rights and civil liberties experts throughout their development and evaluation process.

This work will inform Department-wide policies on AI governance.

DHS offices and agencies submitted dozens of proposals for consideration to the Chief AI Officer, who selected three pilots that would best support evaluating the effectiveness of Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI technology at DHS. 

DHS aims

The new pilot programs aim to:

• Transform Security Investigative Processes, Unlock Data-Driven Insights, and Improve Mission Outcomes – HSI’s pilot project will strengthen their investigative processes by introducing a LLM-based system designed to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of summaries investigators rely upon. The LLM-based system will leverage open-source technologies to allow investigators to more quickly summarize and search for contextually relevant information within investigative reports. The pilot could lead to increases in detection of fentanyl-related networks, aid in identification of perpetrators and victims of child exploitation crimes and surface key patterns and trends that could further HSI’s vital work
   
• Bolster Planning Assistance for Resilient Communities – FEMA will launch a GenAI pilot to create efficiencies for the hazard mitigation planning process for local governments, including underserved communities. Hazard mitigation plans are not only a foundational step that communities can take to build their resilience but can be lengthy to produce and challenging for communities that lack resources to do so. The pilot will specifically support State, Local, Tribal and Territorial governments’ understanding of how to craft a plan that identifies risks and mitigation strategies as well as generate draft plan elements—from publicly-available, well-researched sources — that governments could customize to meet their needs. This pilot could lead to more communities having the ability to submit grant applications for funding to become more resilient and reduce disaster risks.
   
• Enhance Immigration Officer Training through Generative AI – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is developing an interactive application that uses GenAI to improve the way the agency trains immigration officer personnel. USCIS will generate dynamic, personalized training materials that adapt to officers’ specific needs and ensure the best possible knowledge and training on a wide range of current policies and laws relevant to their jobs. The goal is to help enhance trainees’ understanding and retention of crucial information, increase the accuracy of their decision-making process and limit the need for retraining over time.