The CIA has been utilizing artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, to enhance its intelligence-gathering capabilities, and plans to expand its use in the future. According to the agency’s AI lead, Lakshmi Raman, AI has been used for content triage, translation, and transcription since 2012, and has been instrumental in helping analysts process large amounts of data quickly. Raman emphasized that the CIA is not insulated from the “generative AI zeitgeist” and has been leveraging AI for open-source intelligence collection, search and discovery, writing assistance, and ideation aids. The agency has also been working on creating an environment for AI to thrive, with a focus on risk management and ensuring that users can utilize AI-generated output in a safe, secure, and trustworthy manner. Raman anticipates AI and AI-focused work roles to permeate functions across the CIA, and acknowledges that the agency must stay ahead of its adversaries, such as China and Russia, who are also developing AI capabilities for their advantage.

CIA Leverages AI for Intelligence Gathering
“We don’t see AI or technology as anything that is going to replace our workforce. But we see it as something that is going to heavily augment our workforce, and help us accelerate our velocity in completing tasks so that we can leverage our minds for higher-order work.”










