Exclusive: DHS could use AI everywhere, Mayorkas says

• DHS is beefing up its tech talent, including on AI, and Mayorkas said a recent recruiting trip to Silicon Valley netted 2000 job applications for 50 open positions.

Context: Mayorkas and his department recently launched a trio of pilot projects applying artificial intelligence to help train immigration officers by simulating interviews with applicants. AI tools are also organizing investigations and helping local communities organize grant applications for hazard mitigation.

What they're saying: "We're using AI at our border, in our not intrusive inspection technology, to detect anomalies in commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, to detect whether an individual is being smuggled, whether precursor chemicals or manufactured fentanyl are being smuggled," Mayorkas said.

• "There is not a domain of the Department of Homeland Security, and the domain is quite vast and diverse, that we could not use AI, if in fact we learn how to use it responsibly, we understand what the implications are from a civil rights, civil liberties perspective, from a privacy perspective," he continued.

Yes, but: "There are elements of our work that can't be replaced by technology," Mayorkas told the crowd at the What's Next event.

• He said DHS is on guard for "adversarial" use of AI, including disinformation, data poisoning and the fabrication of false evidence of child exploitation that can send investigators down blind alleys.