Intelligence in America—With Al's grey cells and AWS's synapses

Can bureaucracy be strengthened or diluted with IT? Can classified areas, document filtering and secret departments find new allies in AI and Cloud? At the 15th annual AWS Public Sector Summit in Washington, DC, AWS shared its support for national security and defence, as well as updates on AWS's custom chips and other announcements.

- By Thomas George

There are pigeons. And there are owls and hawks. The information can be sent both ways. But the routes, grip, wings and flight-time vary so much between a soft-staple bird and a sharp-eyed aviator. Handling documents in classified areas and rigid bureaucracies is no different. It would be fascinating to see what kind of wings AWS is choosing here, and where they are parking themselves.

FROM DC TO AI

It was a conversation that first ferried the audience back towards 1791, right after the American Revolution. The picture was sketched well. It sent people's imaginations to a park called Jones Point. The spot where surveyors laid the first building block marked the first outline of DC boundaries. It’s this South cornerstone, set in 1791, which also bears a sign—DC’s first building block. One cannot help but wonder if those people who laid that first mark envisioned what this city would become. They may have a sense for that. But regardless, they had to build something. Nothing could have explained technology as a cornerstone for the PSU revolution better. This example set the tone for an interesting chat that was to follow. It’s time to build and lay the foundation for the future.

The person across the table, in the spotlight and commanding the horse’s mouth, was none other than Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has served in the Hawaii State Legislature, the Hawaii National Guard, the US Army Reserve, and the US House of Representatives.

The top intelligence official in the United States went for the most sensitive jugular vein the right way. And talked about how critical and fragile technology can become when being wielded in bureaucracies and intelligence communities.