The intelligence tradecraft and landscape have shifted dramatically in recent years due to emerging technologies and increasingly sophisticated threats. We caught up with former CIA leader Jennifer Ewbank at the 2024 Baird Government & Defense Conference last month to get an update on how industry and IC agencies are adapting to and tackling trends across the intelligence field.
Inside the Threat Landscape
One of the defining factors of the threat environment is a “democratization of capabilities,” said Ewbank, a Wash100 Award winner who founded Andaman Strategic Advisors after her time in government.
“It’s no longer just nation state actors who have the most sophisticated capabilities that are threatening us — threatening government, threatening industry,” Ewbank said in a video interview with Executive Mosaic’s Summer Myatt. “It’s also a lot of criminal actors as well, and there are moments when you can’t even tease apart who’s the criminal actor, who’s the government entity, who is driving what action. I think that’s been a really interesting and challenging development in the last year or two.”
Why ‘Winning’ Quantum Is Paramount
The field of quantum computing is on the cusp of a major breakthrough — sort of. Quantum experts say the next big breakthrough for the field will unleash a myriad of opportunities and threats. But nobody knows when that breakthrough could happen.
Either way, Ewbank says the country who wins the quantum race will have a major advantage, but those who don’t could face significant threats.
“It’s one of those races that I think we have to win for our national security,” she said. “I think it also offers tremendous opportunities for economic prosperity. It’s good for the country in lots of different ways, but really necessary for our national security.”
What’s Next for AI? ‘AGI,’ Says Ewbank
The eventual rise of artificial general intelligence is something Ewbank has her eye on. AGI, as it’s referred to, could pull together data from multiple different sectors, industries and sources to create cross-cutting intelligence and insights government leaders can effectively use.
“If you think about AGI as almost human level reasoning against multiple domains simultaneously, all sorts of amazing things become possible,” said Ewbank. “I firmly believe that the country who reaches AGI first will have a once in a lifetime strategic advantage, and I think that has to be the United States, maybe in partnership with our democratic allies.”
“When it comes eventually, I think it can do tremendous good,” Ewbank added. “There are a lot of great things that can happen — we can solve world hunger, come up with new ways to develop sustainable energy, all sorts of things you can do. But the threat piece is really critical as well, both having it in the hands of an aggressive adversary — that’s something we really have to focus on — but also ensuring that these systems reflect human values.”
Watch Ewbank’s full video interview on Executive Mosaic’s YouTube channel.
Get an inside look at what’s on the horizon for AI within the federal government at the 2025 AI Summit hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on March 20. Register today for the 2025 AI Summit and take advantage of the early bird rate!
