Dr. Jason Ackleson of the Science and Technology Directorate’s Operations and Requirements Analysis Division shares how a January 15th Webinar will delve into how AI is being prioritized in the Department-wide Innovation, Research and Development (IRD) Strategic plan.
Last year, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) unveiled the first-ever IRD Strategic Plan after more than a year of coordination across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Plan is a comprehensive blueprint of the Department’s R&D priorities, with the ultimate goal of harnessing innovation and technology to enhance our overall security posture.
We collaborated with headquarters, components, and offices across DHS to inventory IRD activities; incorporate relevant strategy and guidance from across the greater homeland security enterprise; assess future trends, risks, challenges, and threats; and spearhead a Department-wide futures workshop. This work resulted in the strategic plan linked above, which will guide IRD investments over the next five years and ensure resources are aligned to build capabilities that meet our most urgent and complex mission needs. The coordination activities prescribed by this plan will improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations, advance priority efforts across the Department, and respond to an ever-evolving threat and hazard landscape.
S&T is currently working on implementing the Strategic Plan by developing investment roadmaps for each of the priority research areas. These roadmaps will guide resource allocation so the Department can optimize both cost savings and impacts on securing the homeland and supporting first responders. Next week, we will join forces with HSWERX, a non-profit that connects DHS and industry to identify homeland security technology solutions, to delve into one of the key priority roadmaps for 2025: AI and Autonomous Systems. The Strategic Plan highlights AI as one of the focal points for DHS’s IRD investments over the next five years, with emphasis on areas including machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and predictive analytics.
Join us on Wednesday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. for a webinar focusing AI for Decision-Making and Predictive Analytics, where S&T and HSWERX will explore how AI can enhance DHS operations across mission areas and how we can monitor and respond to emerging risks of adversarial AI in real time. The presentation is part of an ongoing series that will highlight various roadmaps throughout the year.
Learn more about IRD Strategic Plan priority investments and S&T’s collaboration with HSWERX. Visit our HSWERX Strategic R&D Webinar Series page for details of upcoming presentations.