The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like the increasingly popular ChatGPT and rival chatbots is leading to concerns about potential national security risks and implications.
The tools are being rolled out to date with guardrails largely set by the tech industry. That raises concerns about how those tools may be abused by malicious actors or simply go awry through commercial use, according to experts.
“It’s the Wild West right now. And we are way early on in the process of understanding consequences,” said Roger Cressey, a former member of the National Security Council and foreign policy adviser to former President Obama.
“At this point, the most important thing we can do is not accept anything that is coming to market at face value, and instead ask a bunch of basic questions,” he added.
ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November, and its popularity has skyrocketed since.
In the following months, Microsoft, which invested billions into the OpenAI tool, ramped up use of the generative AI technology in its products. Microsoft announced new features Monday powered by the technology behind ChatGPT that will be introduced in other tools, such as for customer service departments to build virtual agents.
