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The outgoing head of the US National Security Agency has announced that the NSA will establish an artificial intelligence security centre.
Army General Paul Nakasone revealed the move during an address to the National Press Club last week, saying that while the US currently has the lead in the area, it may not hold it for long.
“We maintain an advantage in AI in the United States today. That AI advantage should not be taken for granted,” General Nakasone said, as reported by the Associated Press.
The new centre will be a part of the NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, which works with defence-industrial partners both domestically and abroad to defend targets from hostile cyber activity, particularly from Russia and China.
General Nakasone admitted that the US already uses AI across many of its defence and intelligence agencies but that the human element remains essential.
“AI helps us, but our decisions are made by humans. And that’s an important distinction,” General Nakasone said. “We do see assistance from artificial intelligence. But at the end of the day, decisions will be made by humans and humans in the loop.”
When asked if Russia or China was already engaging in election interference ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, General Nakasone said the NSA had not seen any evidence, but he did point out that a number of international elections were slated to take place before the US election and that the US will work closely with its partners to tackle any interference if it does occur.
A recent NSA study found that keeping nascent AI infrastructure safe from sabotage is a challenge facing US national security.
“We must build a robust understanding of AI vulnerabilities, foreign intelligence threats to these AI systems and ways to encounter the threat in order to have AI security,” General Nakasone said.
The news of the new AI centre, and the focus on Russia and China as potential cyber enemies, comes as US and Japanese agencies released a joint advisory last week on Chinese espionage activity targeting Cisco routers and the networks of international organisations headquartered in the US.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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