DHS Artificial Intelligence Strategies and Tactical Pursuits Advance

Previously, I have highlighted Air Force efforts to develop and deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Navy and Marine Corps efforts to harness these technologies to gain operational advantages and capabilities across multiple areas. Today, I will turn my attention to the civilian sector to look at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and their wide-ranging efforts to develop and deploy AI capabilities to increase effectiveness and efficiencies across their diverse mission sets.

In considering DHS’s AI policy evolution over the last several years, as well as DHS component FY 2024 budget request submissions, several AI-related observations and efforts present themselves, from the strategic to the tactical. Some of the AI efforts underway at DHS include:

• DHS Artificial Intelligence Strategy: DHS’s AI strategy to implement and integrate AI into the homeland security apparatus emphasizes maintaining U.S. technological competitiveness while upholding civil liberties. The 2020 DHS-wide strategy set out five goals and approaches to integrating AI into its operations, with a core objective of leveraging AI for mission outcomes while mitigating its risks and challenges. DHS goals: Identifying the potential impact of AI on the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE); Mitigating and managing AI risks to the homeland; Investing in AI to enhance mission effectiveness; Developing a DHS AI workforce; Inspiring public trust and engagement.
• AI Task Force: In April 2023, DHS established its first task force dedicated to AI, co-led by the Under Secretary for Science and Technology (S&T) Dimitri Kusnezov and Chief information Officer Eric Hysen. The task force will advance the application of AI to critical homeland security missions in four priority areas: integrity of supply chains and the broader trade environment; fentanyl drug flow detection, interdiction and disruption of criminal networks; digital forensics to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse; and the impact of AI on critical infrastructure security.
• AI and Autonomous Systems (AS) Research Agenda: The June 2023 S&T Directorate Technology Centers’ Research Agenda outlines their emerging technology and science research priorities over the next three years. AI and Autonomous Systems (AS) research focus areas include trustworthy AI/AS, adversarial AI and advanced applications of AI/AS for unique DHS missions. AI/AS research will take place under S&T’s Advanced Computing Technology Centers.
• Cyber Operations Support: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is working to integrate and support AI/ML capabilities into their government-wide and agency Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) dashboards, as well as the National Cybersecurity Protection System (NCPS), to strengthen cyber detection and response. CISA also requested $96M in their FY 2024 budget for cyber operations tools for the Cyber Analytics and Data System, in part to implement automated analysis, ML and AI capabilities to enable analysts to keep pace with the volume of data received and rapidly identify trends and inform decisions.
• Border Security and Narcotics Interdiction: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to leverage AI/ML in the Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Systems program to provide computer-assisted analysis of NII images and other data to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of NII operations. CBP requested nearly $13M for FY 2024 for work on AI/ML-based algorithms to enhance narcotic detection and reduce the need for a trained CBP officer to analyze each image. CBP has also begun to integrate AI into its Common Operating Picture (COP) border surveillance system environment in control and command centers (C2CEN) to reduce the need for human review of surveillance feeds.
• Intelligence Analysis Support: DHS is building AI/ML capabilities into their Intelligence Data Environment for Analytics (IDEA) unclassified advanced analytics platform to enable intelligence analysts to rapidly identify, assess and disseminate timely, advanced intelligence products to the intelligence community. The FY 2024 budget includes $24M for contractor support for broad areas, including AI/ML expertise.

Engaging DHS for AI Opportunities

In addition to the above examples, the growing interest in AI at DHS has spurred numerous other ways industry may engage with the department and its agencies. The DHS enterprise – and CISA, CBP and other components – maintain a DHS AI Use Case Inventory of non-classified and non-sensitive AI use cases that shed light on their efforts.

The S&T directorate provides a variety of opportunities for industry engagement, including requests for information (RFIs), requests for proposals (RFPs), grants announcements and other funded and unfunded opportunities, including partnerships. Many of these opportunities may be of interest to small businesses and innovative start-up companies.

Finally, DHS’s Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) currently has two AI-focused subcommittees – the AI Mission Focused Subcommittee and the AI Threats & Defense Subcommittee – through which members may advise DHS leadership on AI opportunities and issues.

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For more information on DHS and other federal AI-related policy, acquisition and technology initiatives impacting contractor opportunities, see Deltek’s report, Federal Artificial Intelligence Landscape, 2024.