Editor's Note: What Cybersecurity Teaches Us About Surviving AI

As I sit here writing this, I have been working hard on preparations for my next foray into the world’s largest technology show, CES. For the past few years, covering this show with an eye squarely on technology that will impact the security industry in some way, the theme of artificial intelligence inevitably comes to the forefront – from smart TVs to smart toilets and everything in between.

It gets you thinking about the future of humanity. What does an AI-powered society really look like? Most laypeople jump immediately to the dystopian: robotic sentience and (in their eyes) the inevitable “Terminator moment” when said sentient AI turns on humanity itself.

NVIDIA co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang thoughtfully articulated the flip side of that argument during a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. The parallels he draws between AI development and cybersecurity development are fascinating and can actually give security integrators and consultants a solid takeaway.

“Cybersecurity remains a super difficult challenge. Somebody is going to try to breach your security, [and] thousands of millions of AI agents are protecting you from that threat,” Huang told Rogan. “Right now, while we speak, we’re seeing cyber attacks all over the planet on just about every front door you can imagine, and yet, you and I are sitting here talking. That is because we know there’s a whole bunch of cybersecurity technology, so we just have to keep amping that up.”

Huang continued: “You know, the reason why cybersecurity [defense] works is that socially, the community, all of our companies work together as one. Most people don’t realize this. There’s a whole community of cybersecurity experts. We exchange ideas, we exchange best practices, we exchange what we detect. The moment something has been breached, or whatever it is, it is shared by everybody. The patches are shared with everybody. We work together, all of us. [We] recognize it’s a challenge, and that no company can stand alone.”

This sentiment should ring true for most of us in the security industry. While many of you may be competitors, you all, hopefully, have the same goal of keeping people and property safe from harm. Even if you are competing for customers, it’s a team-oriented goal.

Interestingly, Huang thinks the same concept applies to AI development. “The same thing is going to happen with AI,” he told Rogan. “This idea about cybersecurity [partnership] is unknown to the people who are [worried] about AI threats. We all have AIs, and there’s a whole bunch of AIs in development, and so every single day we’re close to each other. If you have an AI that does something surprising, my AI looks at your AI and goes, ‘That’s not surprising.’ My AI is going to take care of me. This is the cybersecurity argument.”

Sure, AI-centric companies like NVIDIA are leading the charge when it comes to AI development, but within Huang’s chat with Rogan, there’s a lesson for all of us in the security industry: We are an integral part of the community, and we have something to bring to the AI and cybersecurity conversations.  

Huang’s vision only works if the collaboration part actually happens. That means contributing to industry groups and discussions, sharing what you learn about AI deployments (especially the failures), and picking up the phone when a fellow integrator or consultant needs guidance.

In the meantime, be on the lookout for tons more from the cutting edge of AI technology in our next issue, the security industry’s only full, on-site CES-focused issue!