Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Since the emergence of ChatGPT in 2023, artificial intelligence has seized public attention, causing both consternation and optimism for individuals, businesses and governments alike. With the potential to impact nearly every aspect of daily life, AI has been at the forefront of discussions about the future of work and education, the perils of misinformation in the public sphere and the role that the government should play in regulating technology. And these conversations have left Americans rightfully wary: According to the Pew Research Center, in late 2023, 52 percent were more concerned than excited about AI.
At POLITICO’s recent Governors Summit presented by Cisco, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity and networking providers, political and industry leaders acknowledged the uncertainty around the implementation of AI and the need for broad collaboration on a range of issues related to the technology. “We conducted research with 8,000 CIOs around the world, and 97 percent reported an urgency to deploy AI technology, yet only IBM Global AI Adoption Index had a plan,” said Fran Katsoudas, Cisco’s executive vice president and chief people, policy and purpose officer in conversation with POLITICO CEO Goli Sheikholeslami. “This shows the opportunity in front of all of us.”
Fran noted that technology companies are grappling with how to embed AI in all aspects of their portfolios while also trying to answer how it will affect their people. And it will affect large numbers of workers — the World Economic Forum reports that over half the global labor force may need reskilling over the next two years.
How this technology is deployed for the greatest benefit, and how public and private sector entities can accomplish it, are complex questions with no easy answers. But there is reason for positivity — because the conversations are taking place. As Katsoudas said, “Government, the private sector, academia and our wider communities are driving inclusion.”
Here are POLITICO Focus’ five key takeaways from the discussion:
We conducted research with 8,000 CIOs around the world, and 97 percent reported an urgency to deploy AI technology, yet only 14 percent had a plan — this shows the opportunity in front of all of us.
— Fran Katsoudas
Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy, and Purpose Officer, Cisco
The benefits of AI must outweigh the risks
From diagnosing diseases to automating rote tasks, AI promises to make significant improvements in people’s lives. But it also carries risks around cybersecurity, surveillance and misinformation. Issues with access to this technology can also exacerbate existing inequalities.
To ensure that AI’s upsides are greater than those risks, data privacy must be foundational to AI technologies. Katsoudas described how 80 percent of global internet traffic moves on Cisco technology, so they and other providers must realize the massive potential for security breaches and embed privacy measures in all aspects of what they create and manage.
An important step is the recent creation of the AI Safety Institute Consortium, in which Cisco is a participant, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which brings together government, industry, academia and civil society organizations to deploy AI in a safe and trustworthy manner. This consortium will develop guidelines and best practices for privacy measures, authenticating digital content and preventing harmful capabilities from impacting AI users.
Integrated platforms will enhance AI cybersecurity
Cybersecurity risks are ever-present and always evolving. There are 3.5 billion phishing emails sent every day, along with 2 million malware samples. It’s, therefore, vital to enhance AI cybersecurity to the greatest extent possible. Unfortunately, cybersecurity concerns have undercut the technological strategies that can help this situation.
“What we’ve heard from our customers is that cybersecurity fears over the last decade have forced them to bring in different vendors and different technologies,” Katsoudas said. “But at the end of the day, they don’t knit together — they actually create more risk.” The solution she described is integrated platform technology that avoids cobbling programs together. With robust and integrated platforms, organizations can more confidently deploy AI-driven technology with a strong cybersecurity defense built in.
Technology skills training must expand and adapt
The effects of the fourth industrial revolution are still unfolding in real time, but what we do know is that digital skills are more crucial than ever. The National Skills Coalition found that 92 percent of jobs now require digital skills.
Those skills must be rethought and retaught as technology evolves so that workers can keep up with the pace of change. To address this continuous need, “training is going to be more bite-sized, and we’re going to have to meet people where they are,” Katsoudas said. She pointed out how Cisco employs 80,000 people, and those people have different career goals. “Some employees want to stay in their role for five years; others only for two years,” she explained. “We need to allow them to keep learning and creating their careers, so skills training must be embedded in what we do on a daily basis.” Cisco also offers digital skills training to people and communities around the world. Its Networking Academy is one of the longest-standing IT skills-to-jobs programs in the world, and has trained over 20 million learners since 1997.
AI is driving urgency in closing the digital divide
The private sector and governments are making significant strides to close the persistent divide between communities with broadband access and those without it.
Cisco, for example, has partnered with the City of Fort Worth, Texas, to expand connectivity to under-connected neighborhoods, and the company has leveraged technology like Webex by Cisco to connect populations of people experiencing homelessness in El Paso, Texas, with community resources to more easily find housing and work opportunities. As AI provides new and better prospects for technology careers and service delivery, these efforts are taking on a new importance. And, with funding available through the Digital Equity Act in the bipartisan infrastructure law, now is the time for the private and public sectors to act.
AI deployment brings together social and digital needs
The growth of AI will have such far-reaching impacts that it’s impossible to deploy this technology in a vacuum. Governments and businesses must recognize that social inequities can be intensified or ameliorated with technology, depending on how responsibly and inclusively that technology is deployed. Cisco engineers are increasing bandwidth with their Silicon Onetechnology, which enhances network capacity and will provide the scale needed to bring AI capabilities to everyone. With the technology to power AI infrastructure, Cisco is breaking down barriers to AI access. At the same time, this innovation reduces the power needs of the network architecture.
Moving forward with these themes of responsibility and inclusivity in mind can improve communities while also advancing technological capabilities and business growth. “Our focus on our people and the people in our communities allows us to look at AI through a different lens,” Katsoudas said. “We see AI not only as an amazing opportunity for our people and their career growth but also as a chance to deploy responsible AI practices that protect entire communities as well.”
