CSET produces data-driven research at the intersection of security and technology, providing nonpartisan analysis to the policy community. CSET is currently focusing on the effects of progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing. We seek to prepare a new generation of decision-makers to address the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
China and the U.S. are in a close race for AI supremacy. Helen Toner, CSET executive director, explains the different strategies, with China focusing on open-source development and the U.S. relying on big tech dominance, and what “winning” in AI actually means. The post Will the U.S. LOSE the AI Race to China? appeared first on Center for Security and Emerging Technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
🔔 The number of AI-related governance documents is rapidly proliferating, but what risks, mitigations, and other concepts do these documents actually cover? MIT AI Risk Initiative researchers Simon Mylius, Peter Slattery, Yan Zhu, Alexander Saeri, Jess Graham, Michael Noetel, and Neil Thompson teamed up with CSET’s Mina Narayanan and Adrian Thinnyun to pilot an approach to map over 950 AI governance documents to several extensible taxonomies. These taxonomies cover AI risks and actors, i...| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
The Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University is thrilled to announce the Founding Members of the CSET Advisory Board: Lauren Bedula, Michael Brown, The Honorable Alan Estevez, Michael J. Howard, Joel Meyer, and The Honorable Dr. Sarah Sewall. "Each of our Advisory Board members has made significant contributions to U.S. national security and competitiveness. We will benefit immensely from their experience, as well as their willingness to work across aisles and team...| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Sam Bresnick and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by Foreign Policy. In their piece, they examine how China is rapidly integrating civilian technological innovation into its military capabilities through a strategy known as military-civil fusion, aiming to outpace the United States in areas like artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In their op-ed featured in TIME, CSET's Emelia Probasco and Dewey Murdick provide their expert analysis on the increasing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) in various sectors, such as restaurants and news publishing, and emphasizes the need for regulations that extend beyond major companies and government users.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In an article published by WIRED that delves into recent developments in the international regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) for military use, CSET's Lauren Kahn provided her expert analysis.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In an op-ed published in War on the Rocks, CSET’s Lauren Kahn discusses the U.S. Department of Defense's Replicator initiative, which aims to rapidly scale military capabilities in response to strategic competition with China.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET Research Fellow Margarita Konaev discusses the challenges of building trust within human-machine relationships in military systems.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
As artificial intelligence permeates the economy, the demand for AI talent with all levels of educational attainment will expand in kind. Apprenticeships are an effective education and training pathway for other industries, but are they suitable for AI-related roles? This report analyzes trends in AI-related apprenticeships across the United States from 2013 through 2023. It explores the growth of these programs, completion rates, demographic and geographic information, and the organizations ...| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET submitted the following comment in response to a DHS Notice on Proposed Rule-Making from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about modernizing H-1B requirements, providing flexibility in the F-1 program, and program improvements affecting other nonimmigrant workers| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
This report examines lessons from the North Carolina Life Sciences Apprenticeship Consortium for pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing workforce development, and analyzes how apprenticeship programs help address workforce shortages in emerging tech fields. It offers a practical framework with important considerations for designing and launching programs, and serves as a resource for employers, regional leaders, and policymakers seeking to build a more resilient and technically skilled workforce.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In an article published by The Messenger, Luke Koslosky provided his expert insights in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) education and job opportunities.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
As AI agents become more autonomous and capable, organizations need new approaches to deploy them safely at scale. This explainer introduces the rapidly growing field of AI control, which offers practical techniques for organizations to get useful outputs from AI agents even when the AI agents attempt to misbehave. The post AI Control: How to Make Use of Misbehaving AI Agents appeared first on Center for Security and Emerging Technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Kathleen Curlee and Andrew Hanna shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by the Council on Foreign Relations. In their piece, they examine how U.S. space superiority is essential to defending Taiwan while sustaining America’s global leadership in the face of China’s growing space ambitions. The post How America Can Win in Space to Protect Taiwan and Beyond appeared first on Center for Security and Emerging Technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Luke Koslosky shared his expert analysis in an article published by The Hill. The article discusses President Trump’s decision to raise the H-1B visa application fee to $100,000, highlighting the potential impact on the U.S. tech industry and its ability to attract skilled foreign workers.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
China’s efforts to develop AI-related military capabilities have garnered significant interest in the United States. Drawing on 2,857 AI-related defense contract award notices published between January 2023 and December 2024, this report finds that while China’s legacy defense sector players lead AI-related military procurement, an emerging set of nontraditional vendors and research institutions appears to play a consequential role as well.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Cole McFaul shared his expert analysis in an op-ed published by The Hill. In his piece, he discusses how China has become a global innovation leader, surpassing the U.S. in key technology sectors such as advanced manufacturing, consumer drones, and electric vehicles.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Sam Bresnick and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by Barron's. In their piece, they highlight the growing challenge U.S. AI companies face from China's DeepSeek, which is offering advanced AI models at a fraction of the cost of U.S. counterparts.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
A CSET report was highlighted in an article published by Inside AI Policy. The article delves into the findings of the report, noting China’s growing reliance on nontraditional vendors and research institutions in its AI-related military procurement. The post New players in China’s AI sector spur concern over ‘military-civilian fusion’ appeared first on Center for Security and Emerging Technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Helen Toner was featured in an interview published by Fast Company. The article highlights her new role as director of Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) and explores how she is shaping U.S. policy on the national security implications of artificial intelligence. The post Helen Toner wants to be the people’s voice in the AI safety debate appeared first on Center for Security and Emerging Technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Cole McFaul shared his expert analysis in an article published by the South China Morning Post. The article examines how China’s military is systematically incorporating artificial intelligence into its operations by leveraging civilian universities and private companies under its sweeping "military-civil fusion" strategy. The post China’s growing civilian-defence AI ties will challenge US, report says appeared first on Center for Security and Emerging Technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Cole McFaul and Sam Bresnick shared their expert analysis in an article published by The Wall Street Journal. The article examines how China’s military is systematically incorporating artificial intelligence into its operations by drawing on civilian universities and private companies as part of its "civil-military fusion" strategy.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
U.S. technology companies have become important actors in modern conflicts, and several of them have meaningfully contributed to Ukraine’s defense. But many of these companies are deeply entangled with China, potentially complicating their decision-making in a potential Taiwan contingency.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
This report examines nearly 350 artificial intelligence-related equipment contracts awarded by the People’s Liberation Army and state-owned defense enterprises in 2020 to assess how the Chinese military is adopting AI. The report identifies China’s key AI defense industry suppliers, highlights gaps in U.S. export control policies, and contextualizes the PLA’s AI investments within China’s broader strategy to compete militarily with the United States.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
China is following a national strategy to lead the world in artificial intelligence by 2030, including by pursuing “general AI” that can act autonomously in novel circumstances. Open-source research identifies 30 Chinese institutions engaged in one or more of this project‘s aspects, including machine learning, brain-inspired AI, and brain-computer interfaces. This report previews a CSET pilot program that will track China’s progress and provide timely alerts.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
This report examines how 17 leading U.S. technology companies are economically and operationally entangled with Taiwan. By mapping investments, R&D efforts, data centers, and supply chains, it sheds light on how these ties could influence corporate behavior in a future conflict with China, and what risks and incentives may shape tech companies’ decisions in a Taiwan contingency.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Sam Bresnick and CSIS’s Aidan Powers-Riggs shared their expert analysis in an article published by Lawfare. In their piece, they explore how the U.S.–China competition over artificial intelligence is reshaping strategic calculations around Taiwan.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
AI has the potential to transform cybersecurity through automation of vulnerability discovery, patching, and exploitation. Integrating these models with traditional software security tools allows engineers to proactively secure and harden systems earlier in the software development process.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Automation bias is a critical issue for artificial intelligence deployment. It can cause otherwise knowledgeable users to make crucial and even obvious errors. Organizational, technical, and educational leaders can mitigate these biases through training, design, and processes. This paper explores automation bias and ways to mitigate it through three case studies: Tesla’s autopilot incidents, aviation incidents at Boeing and Airbus, and Army and Navy air defense incidents.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET Research Analyst, Mina Narayanan shared her expert insights in an article published by Defense One. The piece examines President Trump’s newly released AI Action Plan, which outlines a sweeping effort to secure American dominance in artificial intelligence by accelerating military adoption, fast-tracking infrastructure, and expanding U.S. influence in global AI governance.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
On July 23, the White House published its long-awaited AI Action plan. In this post, CSET's Alex Friedland breaks down the most important takeaways.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET's Jacob Feldgoise and Hanna Dohmen outline China's market share gains in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, based on data from CSET ETO's updated Supply Chain Explorer.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Lauren Kahn shared her expert insights in an article published by DefenseScoop. The article discusses the Trump administration’s new executive order on “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” which aims to accelerate domestic drone development and adoption within the Department of Defense.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In an op-ed article published in Lawfare, CSET’s Lauren Kahn discusses the increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in military operations globally and the need for effective governance to avoid potential mishaps and escalation.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Lauren A. Kahn co-authored an op-ed published by Foreign Affairs alongside Michael C. Horowitz and Joshua A. Schwartz. The piece explores how recent drone operations by Ukraine and Israel signal a turning point in modern warfare, demonstrating the growing power of low-cost, AI-enabled systems against traditional military platforms.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Lauren A. Kahn and CFR's Michael C. Horowitz shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by AI Frontiers. In their piece, they examine the growing calls to regulate artificial intelligence in ways similar to nuclear technology.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
CSET’s Lauren A. Kahn and CFR’s Michael C. Horowitz shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by The National Interest. In their piece, they explore how the U.S. Department of Defense’s outdated budget process is undermining the military’s ability to adopt and scale emerging technologies quickly enough to deter rising global threats.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is making changes to drastically simplify the criteria that determine its highly coveted R1 top-tier research classification. Last year, CSET Senior Fellow, Jaret Riddick, wrote about a new law from Congress, Section 223 of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, intended to leverage existing Carnegie classification criteria to increase defense research capacity for historically Black colleges and universities. Now, research...| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Policymakers continue to debate the ability of the United States to attract and retain top international talent. This Issue Brief assesses how many international Ph.D. graduates across various STEM fields and nationalities intend to stay in the United States after completing their degrees.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
A core question in policy debates around artificial intelligence is whether federal agencies can use their existing authorities to govern AI or if the government needs new legal powers to manage the technology. The authors argue that relying on existing authorities is the most effective approach to promoting the safe development and deployment of AI systems, at least in the near term. This report outlines a process for identifying existing legal authorities that could apply to AI and highligh...| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Since 2022, U.S. export controls have restricted the highest-performing AI chips from being exported to China. The Biden administration likely did not intend to control CPUs (i.e., general-purpose processors) with these restrictions. However, CPUs are increasingly subject to export controls because chip designers are incorporating specialized elements for AI computation into CPUs. In this blog post, we discuss the implications of controlling AI-capable CPUs and make recommendations for the Bu...| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act has officially come into force today after more than five years of legislative processes and negotiations. While marking a significant milestone, it also initiates a prolonged phase of implementation, refinement, and enforcement. This blog post outlines key aspects of the regulation, such as rules for general-purpose AI and governance structures, and provides insights into its timeline and future expectations.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
A CSET data snapshot was highlighted in a New York Times article discussing the challenges faced by the U.S. government in enforcing technology export controls aimed at preventing advanced chip technology from reaching Chinese firms like Huawei, which is under U.S. sanctions.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In their op-ed in Newsweek, Jack Corrigan and Sam Bresnick discuss the recent release of DeepSeek's AI model, R1, which has surprised the global tech industry by matching the performance of leading U.S. models at a lower cost. This development challenges the assumption that restricting China's access to advanced chips would significantly hinder its AI progress.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In a recent episode of the Cato Institute's Power Problems, CSET’s Sam Bresnick discusses artificial intelligence within the framework of the US-China relationship.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In his Foreign Affairs op-ed, Sam Bresnick discusses China’s ambitious push to develop AI-enabled military technologies, which it views as essential to rival or surpass the U.S. military. While Beijing is investing heavily in AI for improved decision-making, operational precision, and resource allocation, significant challenges remain.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In a China Global podcast episode about the Chinese perspectives on the military use of AI, CSET's Sam Bresnick shares his expert insights.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
In a segment in the Lawfare Marketplace Morning Report, Jacob Feldgoise provides his expert analysis on the escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Since 2019, the U.S. government has imposed restrictive export controls on Huawei—one of China’s leading tech giants—seeking, in part, to hinder the company’s AI chip development efforts. This data snapshot reveals how exactly Huawei’s latest AI chip—the Ascend 910B—improves on the prior generation and demonstrates how export controls are likely hindering Huawei’s production.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
The success of modern AI techniques relies on computation on a scale unimaginable even a few years ago. What exactly are the AI chips powering the development and deployment of AI at scale and why are they essential? Saif M. Khan and Alexander Mann explain how these chips work, why they have proliferated, and why they matter. Their report also surveys trends in the semiconductor industry and chip design that are shaping the evolution of AI chips.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
On October 17, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an update to last year’s export controls on advanced computing, supercomputing and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. This blog post provides an overview of the updated advanced computing controls, analyzes more than 100 relevant chips, and discusses the licensing policies for the expanded chip restrictions and the increased country scope.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
A recent topic of contention among artificial intelligence researchers has been whether large language models can exhibit unpredictable ("emergent") jumps in capability as they are scaled up. These arguments have found their way into policy circles and the popular press, often in simplified or distorted ways that have created confusion. This blog post explores the disagreements around emergence and their practical relevance for policy.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Place to find CSET's publications, reports, and people| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
How can policymakers credibly reveal and assess intentions in the field of artificial intelligence? Policymakers can send credible signals of their intent by making pledges or committing to undertaking certain actions for which they will pay a price—political, reputational, or monetary—if they back down or fail to make good on their initial promise or threat. Talk is cheap, but inadvertent escalation is costly to all sides.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
See our original translation of a speech that Xi delivered to a meeting of academics in 2020 that he convened to solicit input for China’s upcoming 14th Five-Year Plan.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Between 2012 and 2018, the amount of computing power used by record-breaking artificial intelligence models doubled every 3.4 months. Even with money pouring into the AI field, this trendline is unsustainable. Because of cost, hardware availability and engineering difficulties, the next decade of AI can't rely exclusively on applying more and more computing power to drive further progress.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Read our original translation of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, which was passed by the National People's Congress in March, 2021, and covers the years 2021-2025.| Center for Security and Emerging Technology
