The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to hire 50 artificial intelligence experts this year as part of a unique initiative meant to create a new team focused on ensuring responsible use of AI.
Dubbed a hiring sprint, the effort will yield what the DHS is calling its AI Corps. That corps will be modeled on the U.S. Digital Service and consist of teams that utilize the technology responsibly yet strategically, in areas such as the countering of fentanyl and child sexual exploitation, immigration services, travel security, critical infrastructure and overall cybersecurity. It marks a first for the department and will begin with a recruitment event in Mountain View, California.
“As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful and more accessible than ever before, government needs the support and expertise of our country’s foremost AI experts to help ensure our continued ability to harness this technology responsibly, safeguard against its malicious use, and advance our critical homeland security mission,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said. “Our new AI Corps initiative will make it easier to bring these talented, experienced, creative men and women into public service quickly. The DHS AI Corps will enable the Department of Homeland Security to keep up with the pace of innovation as we enhance our work combating fentanyl traffickers, rescuing victims of child sexual exploitation, countering cyberattacks, assessing disaster damage, and much more.”
To emphasize the importance of the initiative, Mayorkas himself and the DHS Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), Eric Hysen, will both attend the event in California. Hired experts will be ushered under the umbrella of the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer but work on various projects across the department. In addition to AI expertise, DHS will search for those skilled in data science, data engineering, program management, product management, software engineering, cybersecurity and proper technology use.
We are recruiting faster than ever because the need is urgent,” Hysen said. “More Americans interact with DHS every day than any other federal agency, so the better and faster we can deploy responsible AI, the more it can positively impact the American people. We are prioritizing recruiting talent who are technologically proficient and eager to leverage recent innovations in AI to transform the way people interact with the government.”
DHS is in charge of the whole-of-government effort surrounding AI, initiated under executive order by President Joe Biden, to address concerns related to the emerging technology.