GoKawiilPeople walk by One World Trade, otherwise known as the Freedon Tower, which is located on the land where the Twin Towers once stood before they were destroyed in the attacks on September 11, 2001 on September 09, 2024 in New York City.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence urged U.S. spy agencies to better prepare for "Black Swan" artificial intelligence risks, warning in a new report the technology could be leveraged by terrorists or adversaries to develop more dangerous weapons and plot more deadly attacks.
"[T]he Committee believes the [intelligence community] and policymakers more broadly must carefully consider how to prevent AI tools from being leveraged for use by rogue actors, including terrorists," the report said. It was written to assess U.S. efforts over the past quarter century to address intelligence failures that led to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
"Preventing terrorist groups from developing access to equipment and expertise necessary to build and use weapons of mass destruction has been a significant point of emphasis for the IC and the national security establishment since 9/11," the report said. "Frontier large language models have the possibility of making it significantly easier for any rogue actor, including terrorists, to develop and conduct more destructive attacks."
The report, and warning about the destructive potential of AI, comes less than two weeks away from the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that killed thousands and remade U.S. security efforts. At the same time, AI is rapidly advancing and driving immense economic activity — leading lawmakers and officials to grapple with difficult questions over regulating the technology.