AI and the Future of National Security

By: Kent Walker (Google/The Keyword)

In this article, Google’s Kent Walker comments on the urgent need for the U.S. to maintain dominance in the digital sphere to safeguard national security.

The United States is in a race to lead innovation in transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Meanwhile, reports continue to surface about cybercriminals infiltrating critical infrastructure—telecommunications networks, power grids, and water systems—to disrupt operations and conduct espionage.

This serves as a stark reminder that today’s global conflicts are unfolding in the digital domain.

It’s no wonder, then, that a pressing question on many minds is: “Will malicious actors take advantage of advanced tools like AI?”

However, as outlined in a newly released report, while generative AI can help bad actors enhance and speed up their attacks, it has yet to enable them to create entirely new capabilities.

In short, defenders still have the upper hand—for now.

To ensure it stays that way, especially as increasingly sophisticated AI models become more accessible to a broader range of users, collaboration between U.S. industry and government will be essential to safeguarding both national and economic security.

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