Possible new NSA boss warns of AI dangers

US President Joe Biden has nominated Airforce lieutenant-general Timothy Haugh to lead the National Security Agency, and he given a warning for growing threats posed by artificial intelligence, from election interference to the potential export of repressive technologies by China.

Talking to the senate armed services committee, Haugh mentioned that those threats could show up in next year’s presidential election. “As we look at this election cycle, the area that we do have to consider that will be slightly different will be the role of generative AI.” – he added.

The White House has pleaded leading AI companies to assist in offering voluntary commitments for limits on the powerful new technology, while congress is in the early stages of learning about the issue before drafting regulation. Officials and analysts in the US have revealed that AI-generated deepfakes could help foreign adversaries spread disinformation.

Haugh also went on to give warning about China possibly wanting to export AI technologies that it uses to control its population. “When we think about where China has focused much of their AI, it’s about information control. It’s about facial recognition, it’s about dominating the population,” – he added.

Calling China the most capable competitor that we have in cyberspace, Haugh said as they consider exporting those technologies, as they’ve previously done in the past with the Great Firewall technology, it’s an area from a threat perspective that has to be weighed by any nation that they will consider partnering with. He said the country also uses cyber tools to “gain political, economic and military advantage.

Currently, the US has an edge over China when it comes to AI technologies, Haugh said. Beijing’s efforts to become a leader in the sector are pitted against US tech sanctions and concerns from Chinese regulators about data security, as well as China’s pervasive use of censorship.

Recently, China’s ministry of industry & IT pledged to push the expansion in computing power needed to drive breakthroughs in generative AI. It has repeatedly said Beijing is a victim, not a perpetrator of cyberattacks.

Haugh paired his warnings about China with reassurances that the NSA would take a “methodological” approach to the analysis of data and ensure that AI is used in a way that “does not impact the civil liberties of any American”. Congress is embroiled in a recurring debate about government use of communications by Americans with people abroad that are swept up through the NSA’s global surveillance capabilities.

If confirmed by the senate, Haugh will replace Paul Nakasone, who has led both NSA and Cyber Command since 2018.