Mayorkas unveils new chatbot for Homeland Security staff
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at an Axios summit earlier this year. Photo: Ronald Flores
The Homeland Security Department is launching DHSChat, an internal chatbot designed to allow about 19,000 workers at the department's headquarters to access agency information using generative AI.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of experimental projects for the agency under Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who spoke with Axios on Monday during a visit to San Francisco.
Context: DHSChat follows earlier generative AI projects that focused on more quickly detecting fentanyl and locating missing children.
- The new chatbot, Mayorkas said, is at an early stage. "I wouldn't want to communicate hubris," Mayorkas told Axios. "I think that humility is required. I'm sure we'll find some flaws and we'll address them as we go."
Between the lines: The department intends to keep the chatbot away from sensitive personal information.
- That includes Social Security numbers, medical records, and personal information about refugees, asylum-seekers, or individuals seeking relief through the Violence Against Women Act.
- Additionally, DHSChat can't be used for classified information or other especially sensitive categories of information involving critical infrastructure.
Mayorkas credited his department's newly created AI Corps for helping quickly build the product.
- The agency launched a recruitment drive at a Bay Area event in February, with a goal of bringing on 50 people with industry expertise. The agency has hired 39 people, with six or eight more in the process of being hired, Mayorkas said.
The big picture: Mayorkas is coming to the end of a tumultuous term that saw him impeached by the House, where Republicans were unhappy with the Biden administration's border policies. (The Senate later tabled the impeachment, saying it was unconstitutional.)
- Among the many questions the transition raises is whether the AI and other tech projects launched under Mayorkas will survive into the new administration.
- "I hope so and it's my intent to communicate to the incoming administration the value of the investment in AI that we have made," Mayorkas said, adding that he would like to see further use of AI, including to more easily access criminal reports.
Yes, but: The incoming Trump administration has vowed to toughen border policies with mass deportations. It's also promised massive cuts to federal employment steered by a new, Elon Musk-led advisory agency.
Another key question is whether the Trump administration will be as attuned to the risks of AI, including those around bias and civil liberties.
- "I actually am confident that they will be as invested in the safeguards as are we, because those safeguards are key to the success of generative AI writ large," Mayorkas said. "I hope they appreciate that."
Asked whether tech companies — and their workers — might be wary of working closely with the Trump administration on immigration issues, Mayorkas noted that some companies have been reluctant even with Democratic administrations.
- He also said it depends on policy specifics: "I would expect that if there is a policy like family separation, and I do hope that it's not implemented again, but that there may be a reluctance to take any part in that by some."
What we're watching: Mayorkas said he isn't sure what's next for him when his tenure ends in January.
- "I'm sad to leave the department," he said. "I care deeply about its mission and its people... We'll see what the future brings."
