FBI overhauls tech backbone to counter AI threats from foreign adversaries, reduce response times, Patel says
The FBI has adapted itself and its cybersecurity capabilities to combat nefarious uses of artificial intelligence from adversarial nations like China and Russia through full-scale modernization — something past leadership relied on temporary fixes to do, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The agency had to completely overhaul its outdated technological backbone, Patel told Fox News Digital.
"Everybody that looks at the bureau thinks they must have the best tech and technology in the world," Patel said. "We didn't because prior leadership, all they did for decades was put a band-aid over a band-aid over a band-aid and never took the time to fix it."
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The FBI also harnesses the use of AI.
To handle threats with necessary speed and scale, Patel said the FBI uses AI to scan databases and swiftly process tips from the public. The technology serves as a human supplement rather than a replacement, which dramatically improves response times for thwarting terrorist plots and school shootings, he added.
"We get tips from our private sector partners and American citizens, and those tips come into our database now finally," said Patel. "Instead of an old game of telephone where 50 people have to call 50 people, and it takes three days to get us the information, it's ingested immediately. It's analyzed."
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The leads are then sent out to field offices, FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. is notified, and personnel are dispatched to handle the issues, Patel said.
When Patel took the helm of the agency, the FBI had only two or three test use cases for AI in its entire history. The agency has now surpassed its 140th AI use case, he said.
Declaring that AI "is here to stay" at the FBI, Patel emphasized that the agency will continue to follow the law, maintain legal guardrails, and partner with the private sector.
AI has come under scrutiny in recent months as lawmakers try to figure out how to regulate the emerging industry. Earlier this week, dozens of tech leaders gathered at the White House for a summit with President Donald Trump, where they signed a voluntary, "morally binding" accord focused on industry self-policing.
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"I think I'm seeing tremendous self-policing. And they understand that they have to self-police," Trump told reporters during an impromptu press conference outside the West Wing.
One of larger tech companies, OpenAI, recently fired three researchers after allegedly sharing confidential company information with a third-party AI safety organization, according to reports.
The firings came as OpenAI and several other major AI companies have disclosed incidents involving rouge AI models engaging in unexpected behavior or hacking the systems of other companies.
