HR1736-119

What This Bill Does

The Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act directs DHS to assess how terrorists may use generative artificial intelligence. Congress states that foreign terrorist organizations' growing use of generative AI is a national-security threat that is not well understood and that DHS, with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, should recognize, assess, and address it. Within one year after enactment and annually for five years, the Homeland Security Secretary, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, must submit assessments to House and Senate homeland-security, intelligence, and commerce committees. Each assessment must analyze incidents from the prior calendar year in which a foreign terrorist organization or individual used or attempted to use generative AI to spread violent extremist messaging, radicalize or recruit people to violence, or enhance the ability to develop or deploy chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. The assessment must recommend countermeasures, comply with privacy, civil-rights, and civil-liberties protections, be submitted in unclassified form with a possible classified annex, and have its unclassified portion posted publicly without FOIA-restricted material. DHS must brief committees within 30 days, review fusion-center information, disseminate relevant information through state and major urban area fusion centers and the National Network of Fusion Centers, and receive threat information from ODNI, FBI, intelligence-community members, and other relevant agencies.

Who Benefits and How

Congressional homeland-security committees, congressional intelligence committees, congressional commerce committees, DHS intelligence analysts, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, state fusion centers, major urban area fusion centers, National Network of Fusion Centers members, state homeland-security officials, local counterterrorism officers, and the public benefit from a recurring, partly public threat picture on generative-AI-enabled extremist messaging, recruitment, and CBRN risks.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Homeland Security, DHS privacy officials, DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties staff, DHS intelligence analysts, ODNI analysts, FBI counterterrorism staff, intelligence-community members, fusion-center analysts, relevant federal agencies, congressional briefing staff, and public-web posting staff must collect incident information, share intelligence, protect civil liberties, prepare annual reports, manage classified annexes, brief Congress, and disseminate threat information for five years.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual DHS assessments for five years on terrorism threats from generative AI.
• Requires analysis of extremist messaging, radicalization, recruitment, and chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapon risks.
• Requires recommendations for countermeasures and congressional briefings within 30 days after each assessment.
• Requires unclassified public posting while allowing classified annexes and excluding FOIA-protected information.
• Requires DHS to incorporate and disseminate fusion-center information.
• Requires ODNI, FBI, intelligence-community members, and relevant agencies to share threat information with DHS.