Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning , Government , Industry Specific

US CISA Appoints 1st Chief AI Officer to Boost Cyber Defense

The United States' top cyber defense agency now has its first-ever chief artificial intelligence officer.

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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency announced Thursday the appointment of Lisa Einstein to serve as its inaugural chief AI officer. Einstein has spearheaded the agency's AI initiatives since 2023 as CISA's senior adviser for AI, and she previously served as the executive director of the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee.

Einstein will be tasked with overseeing the agency's use of the emerging technology to advance its cyber defense mission and ensure the security of the nation's critical infrastructure sectors. The announcement says CISA established the new position to help "institutionalize our ongoing efforts to responsibly govern our own uses of AI."

The agency also hopes the new position will help federal authorities ensure critical infrastructure partners "develop and adopt AI in ways that are safe and secure," according to the announcement.

CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement that rapid advancements in AI over the last two years have had "significant implications" for the agency's core missions and added: "Lisa Einstein has been central to that effort."

"Beyond her technical expertise, she's an inspirational leader who has brought together colleagues across the agency around a clear and impactful vision," Easterly said about Einstein, adding that the new role will help CISA "continue to build AI expertise into the fabric of our agency and ensure we are equipped to effectively leverage the power of AI well into the future."

A pilot program recently conducted by the agency to test new AI tools' capacity to detect vulnerabilities concluded they "can be unpredictable in ways that are difficult to troubleshoot" and in some cases require a substantial amount of time to teach analysts new capabilities (see: CISA: AI Tools Give Feds 'Negligible' Security Improvements).

In 2023, the agency released a road map aimed at guaranteeing the safe development and implementation of responsible AI tools throughout federal institution (see: New CISA AI Road Map Charts Course for Responsible Adoption).

Prior to serving at CISA, Einstein was a research adviser for Stanford's Intelligence Systems Laboratory and a staff fellow for the Federation of American Scientists, according to her LinkedIn page. She serves as a term member for the Council on Foreign Relations and co-founded a youth-run organization that operates awareness campaigns and mentoring and scholarship programs across Guinea.

Einstein said in a statement she cares "deeply about CISA's mission" and added: "AI tools could accelerate our progress."

"We will only reap their benefits and avoid harms from their misapplication or abuse if we all work together to prioritize safety, security, and trustworthiness in the development and deployment of AI tools," Einstein said.