In an effort to combat artificial intelligence threats out of China, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a task force to counter developing threats.

According to a DHS press release, the announcement was made during Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas's inaugural State of the Homeland Security address. Mayorkas said two innovative new programs would tackle the emerging risks with the first-ever AI Task Force tasked with a number of threats coming out of China along with generative artificial intelligence dangers.

Mayorkas said that DHS is evolving with the times and is poised to meet the growing risks that threaten the country on a daily basis.

“The profound evolution in the homeland security threat environment, changing at a pace faster than ever before, has required our Department of Homeland Security to evolve along with it,” said Mayorkas. “We must never allow ourselves to be susceptible to ‘failures of imagination,’ which, as the 9/11 Commission concluded nearly 20 years ago, held us back from connecting the dots and preparing for the destruction that was being planned on that tragic day. We must instead look to the future and imagine the otherwise unimaginable, to ensure that whatever threats we face, our department – our country – will be positioned to meet the moment.”

Congress was presented with the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review last week, which provides information on how to engage with a number of emerging threats such as exploitation crimes and cybersecurity.

Mayorkas' speech concentrated on the advancement of the homeland security landscape as it is headed into its third decade and was given at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C.

DHS is expected to utilize the expertise of over 260,000 employees that help secure America’s borders. During the Sunday program for CBS “Face the Nation," Mayorkas took international policy questions from the audience.