“Pakistan — a key U.S. ally in global efforts to combat Islamist militancy — is in urgent need of an estimated $4 billion in capital to avoid defaulting on its sovereign debt.” See “Pakistan’s Capital Crisis: Implications for U.S. Policy” (pdf), Congressional Research Service, November 7, 2008.
A new Pentagon manual (pdf) issued by Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) James R. Clapper prescribes the implementation of the Department of Defense operations security (OPSEC) program. OPSEC is the process of identifying sensitive information that could be exposed to hostile detection in the course of military operations, and taking steps to protect such information. See “DoD Operations Security (OPSEC) Program Manual,” DoD Manual 5205.02M, November 3, 2008.
The state of national preparedness for a bioterrorist incident was examined last year in a newly published congressional hearing, which includes supplementary questions and answers for the record. See “Six Years After Anthrax: Are We Better Prepared to Respond to Bioterrorism?”, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, October 23, 2007.
If Congress needs help understanding the risks and rewards of a piece of technology, they shouldn’t have to rely solely on the sparknotes from a salesman. The rub is much simpler: Congress needs nerds.
If we set up the new OTA to do its job well, members will see it as the first stop to see what issues are lurking around the corner. They will bring their questions early. And they will keep coming back for more.
Even the best-designed policy rests on assumptions about who will staff it, how it will be funded, whether the responsible institutions have ever coordinated, and if the goals are achievable.
These fellows will be working to turn ambitious ideas into actionable policy – from improving how frontier AI models are evaluated for government use to strengthening biosecurity protections and building the workforce needed to keep AI systems safe.