What would Emmanuel Macron, Xi Jinping, or Vladimir Putin reveal if they were questioned around the clock about their future political plans – without even a single phone call? The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has unveiled a new project based on artificial intelligence: virtual avatars of leading world politicians. These digital clones are designed to help predict the behavior of real heads of state and government leaders. According to a report by the New York Times, the technology was developed over the past two years.
The KI-clones can engage in dialog with CIA analysts, answering questions that would normally be asked of real politicians. In this way, the specialists aim to understand the behavior of power holders under specific circumstances more quickly and accurately. The avatars analyze the behavior and reactions of real politicians to recognize patterns and provide a reliable assessment of their future decisions.
The new CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has repeatedly emphasized the need for the agency to upgrade its technical capabilities to keep pace with the developments of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies. The nation that leads in technological innovation, Ratcliffe said, will also determine the future of political and economic power.
The CIA has invested heavily in new technologies in recent years to optimize the work of its analysts and stay ahead of the competition. In one of his first statements, Nand Mulchandani, the new Chief Technology Officer of the CIA, said that the use of artificial intelligence and modern technologies is crucial for the competitiveness of the United States in the global context, particularly in the competition with China, which has invested heavily in the development of its own KI and surveillance capabilities over the past years. It is essential for the CIA to remain technologically up-to-date.