The New Frontline: Is AI Friend or Foe?
The National Security Law Journal and National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School are excited to host two conversations focused on the national security implications of generative AI, including how the U.S. government is responding to and incorporating new technologies, as well as how lawmakers are thinking about AI and innovation laws and policies.
Join us as we hear from experts who are both leading the critical discussions on emerging technologies occurring in policymaking circles and also developing and recommending innovative approaches for the U.S. government to adopt to ensure that the U.S. remains a technological and military leader.
The event will kick off a fireside chat with:
- William Evanina, Former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center
- Andrea Limbago, Senior Vice President of Research and Analysis, Interos (moderator)
A policy panel will follow featuring:
- Klon Kitchen, Senior Fellow at AEI
- Whitney McNamara, Vice President, Beacon Global Strategies
- Tony Samp, Senior Policy Advisor, DLA Piper
- Kiersten Todt, Former Chief of Staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- Charles Carithers, Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs (moderator)
Please stick around and join us for the reception that will follow the policy discussions.
Location: Van Metre Auditorium, 3351 Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 22201
Date: October 26, 2023
Time: 4 – 6:30 PM
Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KLMRfeOZr4
Speaker Biographies
Charles Carithers
Panel Moderator
Mr. Carithers is a NSI Fellow and Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs where he advises a diverse set of clients with interests related to national security, defense, and homeland security. Prior to joining Cornerstone, he served as a Professional Staff Member with the Committee on Homeland Security in the House of Representatives, advising its Chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), on various national security and intelligence matters. Before his time with the Committee, Charles spent 11 years in the United States Intelligence Community (IC). Mr. Carithers has also served as a Brookings Institute Legislative Fellow with the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the United States Senate where he advised then Ranking Member Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) and Committee staff on matters related to foreign policy and national security.
William Evanina
Keynote
Mr. Evanina has served over 31 years of distinguished federal service, 24 of which as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). On May 6, 2020, Mr. Evanina was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the first Senate-confirmed Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC). In this position, he was the head of Counterintelligence (CI) for the U.S. Government. Mr. Evanina currently serves as Founder and CEO of the Evanina Group advising CEOs and Board of Directors on strategic corporate risk. Mr. Evanina was responsible for leading and supporting the CI and security activities of the US Intelligence Community, the U.S. Government, and U.S. private sector entities at risk from intelligence collection or attack by foreign adversaries. Under NCSC, he oversaw national-level programs and activities such as the National Insider Threat Task Force; personnel security and background investigations; information technology protection standards and compliance; CI cyber operations; supply chain risk management; threat awareness to sectors of the US critical infrastructure; national-level damage assessments from espionage or unauthorized disclosures, CI mission management, and national CI and security training programs. Mr. Evanina is also a member of the National Security Institute Advisory Board.
Klon Kitchen
Panelist
Mr. Kitchen is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on the intersection of national security and defense technologies and innovation. Through his research, he works to understand and explain how emerging technologies are shaping modern statecraft, intelligence, and warfighting, while focusing on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum sciences.
Before joining AEI, Mr. Kitchen was director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology Policy, where he led an enterprise-wide, interdisciplinary effort to understand and shape the nation’s most important technology issues. Mr. Klon has also served as national security adviser to Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and has worked on cyber strategy at the National Counterterrorism Center.
Andrea Limbago
Keynote Moderator
Ms. Limbago is the Vice President, Research and Analysis at Interos. Her writing has been featured in numerous outlets, including Politico, the Hill, Business Insider, and Christian Science Monitor. She also presents at a range of security, government, and academic conferences, covering cybersecurity topics ranging from norms to bots to attack trends. She previously worked in academia and at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC). While at JWAC, Andrea received the Reginald Gray Award, the Command’s top award for technical excellence for her analytic support across the Department of Defense.
Whitney McNamara
Panelist
Ms. McNamara is an Associate Vice President at Beacon Global Strategies where she supports its National Security and Technology practice. She is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
Previously, she led the Science and Technology portfolio of the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Board (DIB), whose mission is to provide the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and other senior leaders across the Department with independent advice and recommendations on emerging technologies and innovative approaches that DoD should adopt to ensure U.S. technological and military dominance. Before that, she served in the Department’s Chief information Office as an emerging technologies policy subject matter expert. Prior to that, she was a Senior Analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, focusing on emerging technologies, future operating concepts, and informationized warfare in the context of long term technological and military competition.
Tony Samp
Panelist
Mr. Samp currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor at DLA Piper Global Law Firm. Mr. Samp advises clients on public policy issues related to Artificial Intelligence, Defense, Space, Directed Energy, and Technology on congressional strategies, the legislative process, and the regulatory process. Mr. Samp leads DLA Piper’s AI Practice in Washington D.C. and has over 12 years of experience working with members of Congress on defense and national security issues having served as Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Martin Heinrich, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Tony’s commentary on emerging technology has appeared in leading publications including WIRED, Science Magazine, The Hill, Roll Call, Defense News, and others.
Kiersten Todt
Panelist
Kiersten E. Todt is CEO and Managing Partner at Liberty Ventures Group LLC. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). As the Chief of Staff, she was responsible for the planning, allocation of resources, and development of long-range objectives in support of the department’s goals and milestones; she provided strategic vision, guidance, and direction to ensure CISA’s Director was prepared to interdict or respond to threats to the homeland.
Prior to her role at CISA, Kiersten served as the Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI), a non-profit initiative that convenes senior executives of global companies to develop free cybersecurity tools and resources for small businesses, worldwide. She co-founded CRI in 2017 with the CEOs of Mastercard, Microsoft, PSP Partners, and the retired CEO of IBM. She was also the non-resident scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security.
Additional Information
Yes. Parking in available to the public in the Van Metre Hall Garage. For more information, visit Parking Services at Mason Square.
Yes. The Virgina Square metro stop is less than 2 blocks from campus.