US intelligence agencies’ embrace of generative AI is at once wary and urgent

Anshu Roy, left, CEO of Rhombus Power, speaks with retired U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, right, during a panel discussion at the AI Expo for National Competitiveness on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Washington. Rhombus Power used generative AI to predict Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine with 80% certainty four months in advance. — AP

ARLINGTON: Long before generative AI's boom, a Silicon Valley firm contracted to collect and analyse non-classified data on illicit Chinese fentanyl trafficking made a compelling case for its embrace by US intelligence agencies.

The operation's results far exceeded human-only analysis, finding twice as many companies and 400% more people engaged in illegal or suspicious commerce in the deadly opioid.