Secretary Blinken Says US Is Working On New AI Tools To ‘Combat Disinformation’

During a speaking session along with the State Department’s Matthew Graviss, the chief data and AI officer, Blinken discussed the “extraordinary potential” and “extraordinary benefit” AI has on our society, and “how AI could be used to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals which are, for the most part, stalled.”

“We have to make generational investments and generational decisions here at home, including in our technological competitiveness. That’s essential to making sure that we remain the standard-setters, the rule-makers around the world,” the Secretary said.

He went on to say that “we can automate simple, routine tasks; we can summarize and translate research. Something that would take normally days, even weeks can be done in a manner of seconds. We’ll talk about this a little bit later, too – media monitoring. Truly, already some extraordinary things the technology we’re deploying is helping us to do.”

Blinken then followed-up by stating another benefit of AI is it allows the government better tools to corral “disinformation.”

I think we can use this technology to actually improve our analysis, to unearth new insights.  We’ve seen already, as we’ve been testing things out, using AI as a tool for helping negotiations in multilateral organizations – we’ll talk about that.  Using it as a way to combat disinformation, one of the poisons in the international system today.

He added: “And I’m also very pleased that we’re launching AI.State, a central hub for all things AI at the department. It offers formal and informal training, including already videos that are up there to help folks get started. It’s a home for all of our internal State Department AI tools – libraries of prompts and use cases. And I would just say, try it out. I’d encourage everyone to test it out, to try it out, to explore it, to try to learn from it, and also lend your own ideas and input, because this is something that will continue to be iterative and a work in progress.”

Blinken would later go on to say: “We have one program that we’re using that is able to basically ingest a million articles every day from around the world, to be able to do that in a couple hundred countries in over a hundred languages and then immediately translate, synthesize, and give you a clear picture of what’s happening in the information space immediately – work, again, that would take hours or actually be impossible to do with that many inputs on a daily basis.”

“So this is an incredible tool for our PD officers. Similarly, the ability to take social media platforms and sites and immediately, I think, take all of that in, translate it as necessary into English, and give our PD officers an incredible resource for understanding what’s actually happening in the information space in a given place on a given issue at a given time,” he added.

Graviss interjected and said that “It’s called Northstar and was launched a couple of months ago, and so would encourage everybody to check that out.”

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

These new AI technologies the government is now using (and the stuff that we are not allowed to see) come courtesy of an executive order Biden signed last year. We are now seeing the ‘fruit’ of that. As a matter of fact, that detailed executive order – that I actually skimmed through – made mention of the Patriot Act. So this executive order that was touted as a good thing was actually the announcement of more censorship to come. SEE: Biden Signs Detailed Executive Order On Parameters For Artificial Intelligence, Promoting Innovation And Stopping ‘Disinformation’

Barack Obama lauded the move at the time in a cryptic message:

It’s clear by now that AI will affect us all. It makes sense that much of the attention — both in government and the private sector — is focused on extreme risks and national security threats.

We don’t want anyone with an internet connection to be able to create a new strain of smallpox, access nuclear codes, or attack our critical infrastructure. And we have to make sure this technology doesn’t fall into the hands of people who want to use it to turbocharge things like cybercrime and fraud.

All this latest admission from Blinken further signals the continued mass consolidation of the press and free speech of Americans.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Proverbs 29:2

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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