Homeland & Cybersecurity
The latest coverage of the Department of Homeland Security and cyber threats around the globe.
Anthropic tells users to play nice with Claude as AI consciousness debate heats up
Anthropic has updated its usage policy to bar “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior toward our models,” as debate grows over whether artificial intelligence can be conscious.
Democrats compete to dominate party perspective on AI regulation
Democrats are racing to define their party’s position on regulating artificial intelligence in a midterm election cycle where the issue has gained traction among voters.
Trump says AI will loom over talks with China’s Xi, but he’s happy with status quo
President Trump said artificial intelligence will be a “big topic” when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
OpenAI’s breach of Australian health department website prompts rebuke from Albanese
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday he was extremely concerned about OpenAI’s breach of an Australian health department website and that the artificial intelligence company took too long to reveal the incident.
Autonomous AI hacks raise thorny questions of legal accountability
The Justice Department has a long history of investigating and prosecuting hackers who break into a private company’s network.
Sanders, Casar propose ‘superintelligence’ ban, new federal department to monitor AI development
Two leading left-wing lawmakers are proposing to ban self-improving artificial intelligence models that can escape human controls and to start a federal department to monitor extra AI development.
Hacker group ShinyHunters claims massive breach of FBI employee data
A well-known group of hackers said it breached several FBI-related services and stole data “on all FBI employees and applicants.”
Marsha Blackburn wants a national database on child trafficking rings before she exits Senate
Sen. Marsha Blackburn says the Justice Department doesn’t have a central database to catalog child trafficking rings.
Foxes guarding the server room? Senators smell a rat as Big Tech begs Washington to regulate AI
Call them skeptical. Senators who have spent years fighting Big Tech find it odd that leading artificial intelligence companies are banding together to pursue government regulation.
U.S. and China open communication line over alarming AI incidents
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the U.S. and China are speaking directly about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
China and the U.S. are competing for AI dominance but have shared concerns over safety
U.S. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, leaders of rival nations in a race to dominate artificial intelligence, are expected to meet this week against a backdrop of rising concerns about the threats that rogue AI could pose to humanity.
Newsom orders review of AI kill switch for advanced models
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Friday to rein in artificial intelligence, including potentially imposing an emergency kill switch for cutting-edge AI models.
Kill switch, monitors, moratoriums: Many plans but no consensus as Congress debates regulating AI
Congress has no shortage of ideas for regulating the artificial intelligence industry but lacks consensus on how to protect humanity from the risks of AI systems operating beyond human control.
Johnson says he and Trump plan meeting with AI leaders ‘within the next week’
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he and President Trump are planning to gather the leading developers of artificial intelligence at the White House for a meeting “within the next week.”
Trump busts AI ‘conspiracy theorists’ for pulling an election-year ‘hoax’
The Trump administration on Monday pushed back against calls to heavily regulate artificial intelligence — including appeals from former President Barack Obama — arguing that alarming warnings from industry leaders and Democrats are a coordinated election-year ploy.
Multimedia
Document: Cybersecurity 2018: Online Security and Safety in Government, Industry and Civil Society
Download the Special Report available in the January 29, 2018, edition of The Washington Times. (3.8 MB)