Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Major new electric car brand launching in South Africa

      15 July 2025

      MTN empowerment investors see ‘modest’ return as Zakhele Futhi winds up

      15 July 2025

      Solly Malatsi seeks out-of-court deal in TV migration fight

      15 July 2025

      Eskom wants your solar system registered – but what does that actually mean?

      15 July 2025

      Beyond bandwidth: FNOs should prioritise customer service

      15 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » World » Likely new NSA boss warns of AI dangers

    Likely new NSA boss warns of AI dangers

    Timothy Haugh has warned of growing threats posed by AI, from election interference to the potential export of repressive technologies by China.
    By Agency Staff21 July 2023
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    US President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the National Security Agency has warned of growing threats posed by artificial intelligence, from election interference to the potential export of repressive technologies by China.

    Airforce lieutenant-general Timothy Haugh told the senate armed services committee that those threats could show up in next year’s presidential election. “As we look at this election cycle, the area that we do have to consider that will be slightly different will be the role of generative AI,” Haugh said.

    The White House has asked leading AI companies to offer voluntary commitments for limits on the powerful new technology, while congress is in the early stages of learning about the issue before drafting regulation.

    US officials and analysts have said AI-generated deepfakes could help foreign adversaries spread disinformation

    US officials and analysts have said AI-generated deepfakes could help foreign adversaries spread disinformation.

    Haugh also warned that China may seek to export AI technologies that it uses to control its population. “When we think about where China has focused much of their AI, it’s about information control. It’s about facial recognition, it’s about dominating the population,” said Haugh, who would also serve as head of US Cyber Command if confirmed by the senate.

    “As they consider exporting those technologies — as they’ve done in the past with the Great Firewall technology — it’s an area from a threat perspective” that should be weighed by “any nation that they will consider partnering with”, he said.

    Haugh called China the “most capable competitor that we have in cyberspace”, saying it uses cyber tools to “gain political, economic and military advantage”.

    Edge

    Still, the US currently has an edge over China when it comes to AI technologies, he said. Beijing’s efforts to become a leader in the sector are pitted against US tech sanctions and concerns from Chinese regulators about data security, as well as China’s pervasive use of censorship.

    China’s ministry of industry & IT pledged on Wednesday to push the expansion in computing power needed to drive breakthroughs in generative AI.

    Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo was among US officials whose e-mails were breached in a hack of government accounts that Microsoft has said originated from China, according to a person familiar with the matter. But China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly said Beijing is a victim, not a perpetrator of cyberattacks.

    China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly said Beijing is a victim, not a perpetrator of cyberattacks

    Haugh paired his warnings about China with reassurances that the NSA would take a “methodological” approach to the analysis of data and ensure that AI is used in a way that “does not impact the civil liberties of any American”. Congress is embroiled in a recurring debate about government use of communications by Americans with people abroad that are swept up through the NSA’s global surveillance capabilities.

    If confirmed by the senate, Haugh will replace Paul Nakasone, who has led both NSA and Cyber Command since 2018.  — Peter Martin, (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP

    Get TechCentral’s daily newsletter



    Joe Biden National Security Agency NSA Timothy Haugh
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticlePrivate sector shielding SA from further collapse
    Next Article IT Leadership Series: MTN’s Kenneth Matau

    Related Posts

    Washington plans tougher chip curbs on China

    25 February 2025

    DeepSeek is a big test for Meta and its embrace of open-source AI

    29 January 2025

    Trump AI gaffe has Meta scrambling

    26 January 2025
    Company News

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025

    The future of business calling: Voys brings your landline to the cloud

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.