The National Security Agency (NSA) has announced the establishment of a new security center to oversee the development and integration of artificial intelligence capabilities.
The opening of the new center comes as a need driven by the increasing integration of artificial intelligence into defense and intelligence systems. The center will be part of the Cybersecurity Collaboration Center. The opening was announced by General Paul Nakasone. The general is the head of the US Cyber Command and the Cybersecurity Collaborative Center.
“Today, the U.S. leads in this critical area, but this lead should not be taken for granted,” he said. “Our adversaries, who have for decades used theft and exploitation of our intellectual property to advance their interests, will seek to co-opt our advances in AI and corrupt our application of it,” National Security Agency Director Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone said.
The facility will serve as a central location for leveraging foreign intelligence insights, discovery, and development of best practices, guidelines, and risk frameworks related to AI security. The center will work closely with US industry, national laboratories, academia, the Department of Defense and international partners to promote the safe development and adoption of artificial intelligence within national security systems and the defense industrial base.
The collaboration center is a location where the private and public sectors, as well as international partners, collaborate.
Currently, the biggest competitor of the USA when it comes to artificial intelligence is China.
The opening of the center is in line with the strategy of NSA experts, who have identified that keeping artificial intelligence from theft and sabotage is the biggest challenge to national security.
The US already uses artificial intelligence, but the final decision is made by humans
What was even more interesting is the part in which the general explained how artificial intelligence is used. Systems are used to automate analysis of attack vectors and threats. Artificial intelligence is used by US intelligence and defense agencies.
Although artificial intelligence helps, the final decision rests with humans, at least for the time being.
“AI security is about protecting AI systems from learning, doing and revealing the wrong thing,” he said.
“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,” he said. “We must also ensure that malicious foreign actors can’t steal America’s innovative AI capabilities to do so.”
