Microsoft would be working to create a model of Artificial intelligence designed specifically for US intelligence agencies, therefore operating in the context of espionage.
This is what is claimed in an article from the prestigious newspaper of Bloombergwe are talking about a model capable of operating autonomously, without the need for Internet access.
The tool, apparently, would allow spy agencies to be able to analyze confidential information in a safe environment, interacting with AI through a chatbot in a very similar way to what happens with ChatGPT.
The new service, which does not yet have an official name, is the Redmond giant’s response to the growing need for intelligence agencies to exploit AI to process their databases and, in this context, to the need to work in an environment sure it excludes hacking attempts or similar phenomena. The already mentioned ChatGPT, in fact, runs on server cloud which, by their very nature, are potentially subject to interference by third parties.
In this sense, in the past the CIA has already expressed its desire to create a sort of internal chatbot, although it seems that this project is disconnected from the Microsoft proposal we are talking about.
A chatbot for spying is already active in the United States with a system isolated from the Internet
According to what Bloomberg mentioned, the project of the AI chatbot for espionage required Microsoft developers 18 months of work on a super computer.
A specially modified GPT-4 model was then installed on it, designed so that it could not have access to the Internet in any way. Apparently, the project is already fully active, available to a staff of approx 10,000 professionalsall part of US intelligence.
Nonetheless, doubts remain regarding the application of GPT-4 in the context of espionage. In fact, AI can still offer in some cases inaccurate responses to prompts and this could cause misunderstandings and significant problems for agencies. The hope is that, in this sense, there is a supervision system effective and that the tool in question is used with awareness.