OPINION:
A few weeks back, a fellow soccer dad was asking me about the most dangerous place I had ever been in my life.
No doubt he expected me to describe some war zone in the Middle East or South Asia, where I served with CIA officers, often embedded with U.S. military units, dodging rocket attacks, carrying an assault rifle and wearing body armor to clandestine meetings with sensitive sources.
No, not even close.
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The most dangerous, scariest place I have ever been? The passenger seat of our car, while teaching my older son, who got his learner’s permit a few months ago, how to drive.
Dutifully inspired and known for his comedic sensibility, my younger son used artificial intelligence to transform a digital photo of his brother behind the wheel, enjoying a quiet drive with his uncle Paul, into a full-blown scary movie, with the two of them screaming as they careened uncontrollably down the road.
My younger son took great delight in fooling some of his friends and relatives, who never questioned the veracity of his digital short because the backstory of a teenager driving with a panicked adult was so believable.
Therein lies the awesome power of generative AI to create and modify media. AI — which is expected to reshape labor markets at scale with more transformational economic impact than steam, electricity and computing combined — has already started to drive this century’s Industrial Revolution.
The Trump administration’s decision to appoint Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to lead the U.S. government’s AI initiative is a propitious step forward. It makes good sense for our national security and economic future.
Responding to the Oct. 9 arrest of Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan for secretly recording communications at OpenAI, Mr. Clayton emphasized that the intelligence community “remains committed to safeguarding America’s cutting-edge intellectual property from foreign threats.”
For Mr. Clayton, the alleged spying “underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national prerogative.”
Mr. Alfozan — who could have been working for any of our adversaries, including Russia, China or a terrorist group — should be a warning to the Trump national security team and Congress. If China’s massive theft of our intellectual property is any indication, our AI technology is under ubiquitous threat.
We have significant legislation to write and pass, and much executive policy planning to do, to ensure that we maximize the commercial and military benefits of AI’s learning, problem-solving and decision-making — while minimizing its risks to our national security.
AI can be a powerful force multiplier for the intelligence community by quickly and efficiently collecting and analyzing massive amounts of information, and by automating labor-intensive intelligence analysis, including satellite imagery and cyber defense. Yet adversaries can also use AI to enhance their own cyberattacks on our infrastructure and direct long-range drones at civilian and military targets.
As my younger son demonstrated, AI makes it possible to generate audio and video forgeries, which could further undermine trust in institutions.
On the hook to chart the way forward for the U.S. government and our private sector, Mr. Clayton’s task force would do well to consider three measures to enhance our strategic clarity and tactical implementation of AI. The objective should be to integrate human oversight into AI to maintain the technical superiority needed to defend against AI attacks while maximizing the commercial and military benefits of our own AI development.
First, Mr. Clayton should create a national intelligence officer for AI, charged with understanding the AI landscape and advancing appropriate policy options in close coordination with relevant government agencies, Congress and the private sector.
Second, although the State Department will seek opportunities to negotiate AI treaties, we must ensure that the intelligence community mounts a full-court press to detect and preempt AI-related threats from state and non-state adversaries.
Mr. Clayton should oversee AI war games in which the intelligence community, law enforcement, the Pentagon and select private businesses participate.
Third, he should nurture an AI partnership between the private sector — where AI development resides — and the intelligence community. Businesses should empower independent inspectors general to engage with law enforcement and intelligence agencies while remaining responsible for addressing waste, fraud, abuse and AI security.
Independent inspectors general would enhance trust and ensure that companies develop AI as quickly as possible, while maintaining the level of regulatory oversight and responsibility that national security and the public rightfully demand.
• Daniel N. Hoffman is a retired clandestine services officer and former chief of station with the Central Intelligence Agency. His combined 30 years of government service included high-level overseas and domestic positions at the CIA. He has been a Fox News contributor since May 2018. He can be reached at danielhoffman@yahoo.com. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or endorsement of the CIA or any other U.S. government agency.
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