During my time on the House intelligence committee, one thing became abundantly clear: America’s adversaries never stop looking for new ways to exploit our vulnerabilities. The threats evolve, the technologies change, but our mission remains the same: anticipate threats before they reach our shores and ensure the United States maintains the strategic advantage. Today, that mission is more urgent than ever as artificial intelligence changes the speed and scale of the threats we face. In the right hands, AI can help America identify weaknesses, harden our defenses, and stay ahead of our adversaries. In the wrong hands, it can help those adversaries find and exploit vulnerabilities faster than ever before.
America’s closest intelligence partners recently sounded the alarm. The Five Eyes alliance — the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — together warned that artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming cyber risk, accelerating the speed, scale, and sophistication of threats facing government, businesses, and critical infrastructure. Our adversaries understand exactly what is at stake. China has invested enormous resources in artificial intelligence because Beijing recognizes that dominance in AI will shape not only the global economy but also the balance of military and intelligence power for decades to come. Russia, Iran, North Korea, and others are pursuing many of the same capabilities. The question facing the U.S. is not whether AI will change the cyber battlefield. It already has. The question now is whether America will ensure that those responsible for defending our most essential systems have access to the tools necessary to stay ahead. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on AI innovation and security shows that this administration understands a critical truth: America’s leadership in AI is inseparable from our leadership in national security. The order takes an important step by directing the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to help agencies, state and local authorities, and critical infrastructure operators gain access to advanced AI cybersecurity tools. (Getty Images)
