Journal Entry #16

Social sciences are integral to a complete system because there is always a human component when dealing with computers or AI. They are a creation that is man-made. It is a common science fiction trope that AI will eventually become autonomous and work to achieve its own goals with disregard to our own, but as of now, they are tools that we use to accomplish ours. As such, what these goals are is not so much a question of math and measurements, but philosophy.

In the context of cybersecurity, we know that the emerging technology of AI will bring forth an era of unforeseen defensive capabilities far beyond the most skill human’s reach. Conversely, we are also introducing nukes into an attacker’s arsenal. It is arms race of high stakes that we have created for ourselves. This meshing of cogs utilizing human biases and flaws, AI, and cybersecurity has created a machine that is already moving quite fast. The direction it’s going, however, is our job to figure out.