FEDTECH: Intelligence officials over the past few years have said AI is not going to replace people in the field; it’s going to augment their capabilities.
GALLINA: I absolutely agree. I sometimes think artificial intelligence is the incorrect phrase for it, that “AI” should be augmented intelligence, or intelligence amplification, because it’s absolutely to be paired with people. And ultimately, I think the development of effective AI tools is really about understanding how to emulate some human cognitive functions, and then allow people to work with those technologies to either go faster or to offload what might otherwise be tedious, repetitive work.
FEDTECH: At the CIA, does it help speed up things like data analysis or being able to find patterns or anomalies?
GALLINA: Absolutely. Obviously, without going into a lot of detail, I can say in a very general sense that we employ artificial intelligence to do things like augment the work of analysts to improve accuracy and the scale and speed of what they can do, to improve the exploitation of data in all media. Human language technologies in particular are helpful in the triage and translation of foreign language. We’re also finding there’s a place for human language technologies and assistance technology for people with disabilities in our community. And we’re using it with good effect in cybersecurity and counterintelligence.
FEDTECH: Your predecessor, John Edwards, implemented the idea of an IT franchise model, based on how McDonald’s operates, to give the mission areas more control in how they procure and use IT, while adhering to a baseline of strict security controls. Are you a fan of the model?
GALLINA: I’m going to have the opportunity in April to meet with leadership and the CIO at McDonald’s. I’m really excited to tell them how much I adore this model and how well it’s going. It has been a delightful surprise coming back into this organization after an 11-year break to see this shift in thinking.
Every CIO I’ve ever met or talked with has been challenged by shadow IT, this idea that at the edge of the CIO empire, there are going to be Jedi knights creating their own counter-revolution. Well, we have the tool now.
This franchise is fantastic at helping create incentives for people in mission-focused areas, in a decentralized way, to work with the enterprise, and both sides get value.