RAND Center on AI, Security, and Technology (RAND CAST) — successor to the Technology and Security Policy Center (TASP)

What it does

RAND's AI centre, formed by building on the Global and Emerging Risks division's inaugural centres — the Technology and Security Policy Center (TASP) and the Meselson Center. Research covers AI security, compute policy, AIxBio, bioresilience and transformative-technology risk. Runs a Fellows Programme and publishes reports that feed directly into US policy.

Honest assessment

Institutionally large and effectively closed to unsolicited outside input; there is no meaningful public inbox. IMPORTANT for routing: 'TASP' is a legacy name — use RAND CAST. Influence here comes through the Fellows Programme or co-authorship, not correspondence.

Concerns it covers

National-security and catastrophic risk: securing model weights, AI-bio convergence, compute controls, and strategic surprise. Rigorously security-framed; loss of control is treated as one scenario among several.

Government channel

Among the strongest of any organisation here — RAND briefs Congress and the executive branch routinely and operates FFRDCs for US government sponsors.