Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful technology that can solve problems or perform tasks that mimic human-like perception, cognition, learning, planning, communication, or actions. AI has many applications in various fields, including national security and intelligence. However, AI also poses some risks and ethical dilemmas for the US intelligence community (IC), which is trying to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation and competition.
AI and the IC: Opportunities and initiatives
AI can help the IC deal with the massive amount of information that it collects and analyzes from different sources, such as signals intelligence, human intelligence, open source intelligence, and geospatial intelligence. AI can also enhance the IC’s capabilities in areas such as cyber operations, counterterrorism, counterproliferation, and foreign influence. AI can provide faster, more accurate, and more scalable solutions than human analysts alone.
The IC has launched several initiatives to harness the potential of AI and integrate it into its workflows. For example, the CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation is responsible for advancing digital and cyber technologies in human and open-source collection, as well as its covert action and all-source analysis, which integrates all kinds of raw intelligence collected by US spies. The National Security Agency (NSA) uses machine learning, a subset of AI that learns from data, to find patterns in the global web traffic that it intercepts. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) uses AI to process and analyze satellite imagery and other geospatial data. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has established an Augmenting Intelligence using Machines (AIM) Initiative to coordinate and accelerate the adoption of AI across the IC.
AI and the IC: Challenges and pitfalls
However, AI also poses some challenges and pitfalls for the IC, which need to be addressed carefully and responsibly. Some of these include:
- Data quality and bias: AI depends on large and diverse datasets to train and test its algorithms, but the IC may not have access to such data in classified environments. Moreover, the data may be incomplete, inaccurate, or skewed, which can affect the performance and reliability of AI systems. For example, facial recognition systems may have higher error rates for people of color or women than for white men.
- Ethical and legal issues: AI raises some ethical and legal questions for the IC, such as how to ensure accountability, transparency, and oversight of AI systems, how to protect the privacy and civil liberties of individuals and groups affected by AI, and how to comply with the laws of war and human rights norms when using AI for lethal or non-lethal purposes.
- Adversarial and malicious use: AI can also be used by adversaries and malicious actors to undermine the IC’s missions and objectives, such as by creating fake or manipulated content, such as deepfakes or synthetic voices, to spread disinformation or influence campaigns, by launching cyberattacks or hacking AI systems, or by developing counter-AI capabilities to evade or deceive the IC’s AI systems.
AI and the IC: The way forward
The IC recognizes the importance and urgency of adopting and adapting to AI, but it also acknowledges the risks and challenges that it entails. Therefore, the IC needs to develop a comprehensive and coherent strategy and plan for integrating AI into its operations, while ensuring its ethical and responsible use. The 2022 Intelligence Authorization Act has called for the IC to produce such a plan, which would create an “AI digital ecosystem” that would enable the IC to leverage AI for its missions, while addressing the technical, organizational, cultural, and legal barriers that may hinder its implementation.
The IC also needs to collaborate and coordinate with other stakeholders, such as the private sector, academia, civil society, and international partners, to share best practices, standards, and norms for AI, and to foster trust and confidence in AI systems. The IC also needs to invest in research and development, education and training, and innovation and experimentation, to keep pace with the evolving and dynamic nature of AI, and to maintain its competitive edge over its rivals, especially China, which has declared its ambition to become the world leader in AI by 2030.
AI is a game-changer for the US intelligence community, but it is not a silver bullet. The IC needs to embrace the opportunities and address the challenges that AI presents, and to use it wisely and ethically, to enhance its capabilities and fulfill its missions.
