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Eleven years ago Edward Snowden, a disgruntled contractor working for the National Security Agency (nsa), Americas signals-intelligence (sigint) service, fled to Hong Kong then Russia and revealed that America and its allies were sweeping up much of the worlds communications. Intelligence agencies warned that his disclosure would have dire consequences, as enemies found other ways to communicate. In the end it was not as bad as feared. Agencies could no longer access all of the data they needed to see, or had access to before, writes Ciaran Martin, then a senior official at gchq, Britains sigint agency. But they could still get lots, he notes. Indeed, enough to provide American sigint with the lions share of intelligence, including intercepts of communications, that showed in 2021 that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine, and how it planned to do so.

In the past two decades, sigint has been transformed. The internet took over from radio and telephone traffic in the 1990s. Now, a decade after Mr Snowden, most internet traffic is encrypted and data have pooled in new places, like the cloud. The same computer networks that ferry it about have also become integral to the physical worldfrom cars to power grids to military systemsblurring the line between cyber-espionage and cyber-attacks, and reshaping the identity of sigint agencies. But they remain extraordinary intelligence-gathering machines.

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Signals intelligence has become a cyber-activity - The Economist

1. OpenAI adds former NSA chief to its board  CNBC
2. Snowden warns Do not trust OpenAI after former NSA director appointed to board  Fortune
3. OpenAI adds former NSA chief Paul Nakasone to the board  Axios
4. OpenAI adds Trump-appointed former NSA director to its board  The Washington Post
5. OpenAI appoints former head of NSA to board; expands lobbying team globally  The Hindu
6. Edward Snowden Releases New Message: 'You Have Been Warned'  Newsweek
7. OpenAI appoints former top US cyberwarrior Paul Nakasone to its board of directors  The Associated Press
8. OpenAI Appoints Former NSA Chief Paul Nakasone to Board  Bloomberg
9. Snowden: OpenAI Hiring Former NSA Director Is 'Willful, Calculated Betrayal'  PCMag

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OpenAI adds former NSA chief to its board - CNBC

OpenAI has appointed Paul M. Nakasone, a retired general of the US Army and a former head of the National Security Agency (NSA), to its board of directors, the company announced on Thursday.

Nakasone, who was nominated to lead the NSA by former President Donald Trump, directed the agency from 2018 until February of this year. Before Nakasone left the NSA, he wrote an op-ed supporting the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the surveillance program that was ultimately reauthorized by Congress in April.

OpenAI says Nakasone will join its Safety and Security Committee, which was announced in May and is led by CEO Sam Altman, as a first priority. Nakasone will also contribute to OpenAIs efforts to better understand how AI can be used to strengthen cybersecurity by quickly detecting and responding to cybersecurity threats.

Recent departures tied to safety at OpenAI include co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who played a key role in Sam Altmans November firing and eventual un-firing, and Jan Leike, who said on X that safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to have huge positive impacts on peoples lives, but it can only meet this potential if these innovations are securely built and deployed, board chair Bret Taylor said in a statement. General Nakasones unparalleled experience in areas like cybersecurity will help guide OpenAI in achieving its mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

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Former head of NSA joins OpenAI board - The Verge

On Thursday, OpenAI revealed that retired General Paul Nakasone, who previously led the National Security Agency, is joining its board of directors. In addition to this new position, Nakasone will be part of the boards Safety and Security Committee.

OpenAIs appointment of General Nakasone appears to be a strategic move to address the concerns in reaction to backlash by critics. These critics argue that OpenAI is advancing too rapidly, releasing models and services without properly assessing potential risks or implementing necessary safeguarding measures. By bringing in a high-profile figure like Nakasone, OpenAI aims to demonstrate its commitment to evaluating and mitigating risks associated with its technology.

With decades of experience from his tenure in the Army, U.S. Cyber Command, and the NSA, Nakasone brings strong credentials. Despite the opinions on the operations of these agencies, his depth of experience in cybersecurity and intelligence speaks for itself.

Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAIs board, said, Artificial Intelligence has the potential to have huge positive impacts on peoples lives, but it can only meet this potential if these innovations are securely built and deployed. General Nakasones unparalleled experience in areas like cybersecurity will help guide OpenAI in achieving its mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

General Nakasone shared his thoughts on joining the board, saying, OpenAIs dedication to its mission aligns closely with my own values and experience in public service. I look forward to contributing to OpenAIs efforts to ensure artificial general intelligence is safe and beneficial to people around the world.

Nakasone will become a member of OpenAIs Safety and Security Committee, tasked with advising the board on key safety and security issues related to the companys projects and operations. However, the specific functions and operational details of this newly established committee remain undefined. Adding to the uncertainty is the recent departures of key safety experts and a current 90-day assessment by the committee into OpenAIs operational protocols and safety measures.

Original post:
Former NSA Head Joins OpenAI Board and Safety Committee - RetailWire

Former head of the National Security Agency, retired Gen. Paul Nakasone, will join OpenAIs board of directors, the AI company announced Thursday afternoon. He will also sit on the boards security and safety subcommittee.

The high-profile addition is likely intended to satisfy critics who think that OpenAI is moving faster than is wise for its customers and possibly humanity, putting out models and services without adequately evaluating their risks or locking them down.

Nakasone brings decades of experience from the Army, U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA. Whatever one may feel about the practices and decision-making at these organizations, he certainly cant be accused of a lack of expertise.

As OpenAI increasingly establishes itself as an AI provider not just to the tech industry but government, defense and major enterprises, this kind of institutional knowledge is valuable both for itself and as a pacifier for worried shareholders. (No doubt the connections he brings in the state and military apparatus are also welcome.)

OpenAIs dedication to its mission aligns closely with my own values and experience in public service, Nakasone said in a press release.

That certainly seems true: Nakasone and the NSA recently defended the practice of buying data of questionable provenance to feed its surveillance networks, arguing that there was no law against it. OpenAI, for its part, has simply taken, rather than buying, large swathes of data from the internet, arguing when it is caught that there is no law against it. They seem to be of one mind when it comes to asking forgiveness rather than permission, if indeed they ask either.

The OpenAI release also states:

Nakasones insights will also contribute to OpenAIs efforts to better understand how AI can be used to strengthen cybersecurity by quickly detecting and responding to cybersecurity threats. We believe AI has the potential to deliver significant benefits in this area for many institutions frequently targeted by cyber attacks like hospitals, schools, and financial institutions.

So this is a new market play, as well.

Nakasone will join the boards safety and security committee, which is responsible for making recommendations to the full Board on critical safety and security decisions for OpenAI projects and operations. What this newly created entity actually does and how it will operate is still unknown, as several of the senior people working on safety (as far as AI risk) have left the company, and the committee is itself in the middle of a 90-day evaluation of the companys processes and safeguards.

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Former NSA head joins OpenAI board and safety committee - TechCrunch