Washington’s tech giant Microsoft Corp. (NYSE: MSFT) has created a generative artificial intelligence program designed specifically for American spies.
The large language model (LLM) is the first of its kind to be completely disconnected from the web, a senior company official described to Bloomberg on Tuesday. Other AI models like ChatGPT rely on cloud services to help analyze data.
“This is the first time we’ve ever had an isolated version – when isolated means it’s not connected to the Internet,” chief tech officer William Chappell said, “and it’s on a special network that’s only accessible by the U.S. government.”
Microsoft has been working on this for about a year and a half. Creating the LLM involved overhauling an AI supercomputer in Iowa, the company says.
About 10,000 select Americans working for agencies like the CIA and NSA will now have access to the new technology.
Despite this significant achievement, the Department of Homeland Security recently criticized Microsoft for its flawed cybersecurity practices. “When a hacking group associated with the People’s Republic of China known as Storm 0558 compromised Microsoft’s cloud environment last year, it struck the espionage equivalent of gold,” the department said.
The Central Intelligence Agency is currently seeking to hire an AI specialist who would receive an annual salary of up to US$172,000 per annum.
Microsoft Launches Air-Gapped Generative AI for US Spies, Enhancing Top-Secret Intelligence Handling with Advanced Tech pic.twitter.com/bbfPniCuaQ
— Dagnum P.I. (@Dagnum_PI) May 7, 2024
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CIA develops AI tool for sorting public info
Another Bloomberg interview with a CIA official last September revealed that the renowned, highly questionable organization was developing an AI model of its own. It is designed to rapidly sort through vast troves of public data.
“We have to find the needles in the needle field,” Randy Nixon, a CIA official working on the project, said. It is part of a wider AI initiative aimed at enhancing competitiveness against China.
All 18 American intelligence agencies will have access to it once it is fully developed.
The AI technology industry continues to progress at a rapid rate. Certain companies like VERSES AI Inc. (CBOE Canada: VERS) (OTCQB: VRSSF) have even been developing programs that employ nature-inspired biological processes for machine learning instead of relying on enormous data sets like traditional AI.
The tech developer’s flagship product, Genius, will be available to the public by the end of this year. Key features include generalizability, real-time adaptation, predictive queries and an automated computing network.
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rowan@mugglehead.com
