Co-hosted by UC Berkeley’s Center for Security in Politics and Digimarc, Panel Explores Cross-Sector Solutions and Actions Needed to Address Threats from Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)
Berkeley, CA — Yesterday, former Secretary of Homeland Security (2009-2013) Janet Napolitano and Digimarc CEO Riley McCormack, joined in public conversation with New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, U.S. Congressional Representative Jay Obernolte, NBC News Correspondent Jake Ward, and University of California Professor Dr. Hany Farid to propose solutions and implementation actions needed in safeguarding the development of GenAI.
“The development of GenAI is a global phenomenon offering immense innovative opportunity and potential,” said Former Secretary Janet Napolitano. “The rapid pace with which GenAI has and will continue to develop means that the tools, solutions, and regulations needed to safeguard that growth are required immediately.”
Panelists covered the impact of GenAI on national and global election security, issues of digital content authenticity, misinformation, and disinformation, as well as threats to copyright ownership and intellectual property posed by GenAI. While discussion of the methods and tools differed somewhat, the overwhelming consensus among all panelists was that implementing such solutions will require intense collaboration from private, public, and academic sectors — and that action must come fast.
In particular, on-device content authentication was one proposed solution championed as a tool to safeguard against threats expeditiously. “Every single piece of digital content is created and consumed on a digital device,” said Digimarc CEO Riley McCormack. “Moreover, the tools to both embed and detect digital watermarks not only exist, but can be immediately pushed over-the-air to all devices. In building a system of trust and authenticity, both ubiquity and speed matter, and both can be solved today.” Held at the Goldman School of Public Policy, the forum was attended by roughly 200 people.
About Berkeley:
The Goldman School of Public Policy:
The Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley is a graduate school that prepares students for careers in public leadership and undertakes world-class research that addresses the most urgent issues of our time, including climate change, emerging technologies, democracy, national security, criminal justice, and poverty.
The Center for Security in Politics:
The Center for Security in Politics (CSP) supports research, curriculum, and convenings that bring students, academics, and leading political practitioners together to address critical global risks, to translate research and analysis into actionable solutions for policymakers, thought leaders and elected officials, and to train a diverse generation of security professionals for careers in public service.
About Digimarc:
Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) is the pioneer and global leader in digital watermarking technologies. For nearly 30 years, Digimarc innovations and intellectual property in digital watermarking have been deployed at massive scale for the identification and the authentication of physical and digital items. A notable example of this is our partnership with a consortium of the world’s central banks to deter counterfeiting of global currency. Digimarc is also instrumental in supporting global industry standards efforts spanning both the physical and digital worlds. In 2023, Digimarc was named to the Fortune 2023 Change the World list and honored as a 2023 Fast Company World Changing Ideas finalist. Learn more at Digimarc.com.
Media Contacts:
Vanessa Martini
vanessaba1@berkeley.edu;
Susan Baldwin
PR@digimarc.com
509.939.1137
Share this Press Release
