Editor’s Note: Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and possibilities are continuously and rapidly evolving. Although surreal at the time, some of the imagined AI portrayed in The Jetsons, Star Trek, and many other television shows and movies have become reality. Based on technological advances in recent years, it is clear that the imaginations of today could become reality in the not-too-distant future, so any potential benefits or consequences of AI must be considered across all disciplines.

Emergency preparedness, in particular, involves imagining the likely as well as the what-if scenarios to determine how to combat future threats and hazards. The changing emergency management landscape raises questions about how research and development and technology can support daily tasks and emergency operations centers. Having an AI-ready workforce is critical for meeting today’s threats and hazards. To help emergency preparedness and response professionals better prepare for this technological evolution, researchers, policymakers, and community stakeholders across the country are developing partnerships and plans to ensure a human-centric approach to AI development.

The authors in this December edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal provide coverage of the transformative impact of AI on emergency operations and highlight the technological advancements, practical applications, and barriers to implementation and acceptance. With their exponentially increasing speed of development, existing, emerging, and not-yet-created technologies must all be part of the planning process in 2025 and beyond. Domestic Preparedness would like to thank the Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate for inspiring this end-of-year edition.