Who Watches the Warfighters? Oversight of AI in the DOD

Who watches the warfighters? As defense instituations race to integrate AI into national security operations, the mechanisms designed to catch failures and protection those who report the are struggling to keep pace.

Jennifer Gibson, Executive Director of Psst.org, and Abra Ganz, AI Oversight lead at CARMA and incoming Director of AI Policy at Pour Demain, discuss the emerging challenge of holding defense institutions accountable for their use of AI. Drawing on their experience leading a research initiative on oversight of AI in the Department of Defense, and an organization supporting whistleblowers in the tech and AI space, they will explore the current state of testing, evaluations and whistleblower protections in the national security sector and what stronger oversight frameworks could look like.

In-person event (Harvard ID holders only). Lunch will be served.

Part of the AI Governance Speaker Series co-sponsored by AISST and the HLS AI Law Association (AIA).

Speakers

Jennifer Gibson is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Psst.org, a nonprofit that makes it safer for tech and AI insiders to blow the whistle on potential harms. Earlier in her career, Gibson spent a decade investigating, litigating, and advocating on issues related to the War on Terror, including covert drone strikes, special operations raids, and kill lists. Working at Reprieve, she engaged regularly with national security whistleblowers and developed a close-up view of what happens when powerful institutions operate without meaningful oversight, and what it costs the people willing to speak up about it. Before Psst.org, Gibson was Legal Director of the Whistleblower Protection Program at The Signals Network. She holds a JD from Stanford Law School.

Abra Ganz leads the AI oversight team at the Centre for AI Risk Management and Alignment (CARMA) and is the incoming Director of AI Policy at Pour Demain. Her work spans AI oversight in civilian and national security settings and she has advised policymakers in the US, UK, South Korea, and the EU on related legislation. Ganz is also an affiliate at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, and holds an undergraduate degree in Classics from Oxford and a Master’s in Logic from the University of Amsterdam