Tulsi Gabbard Highlights Role of AI in Modernizing U.S. Intelligence at AWS Summit

U.S. intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard emphasized the growing role of artificial intelligence in streamlining intelligence operations during her remarks at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit in Washington on Tuesday.

Speaking at the technology conference, Gabbard noted that AI, when applied responsibly, has significantly accelerated the scanning and review of sensitive documents. “We have been able to do that through the use of AI tools far more quickly than what was done previously, which was to have humans go through and look at every single one of these pages,” she said, according to the Associated Press.

The use of AI, she explained, is saving both time and money for intelligence agencies. It allows human officers to focus more on collecting and analyzing information rather than on administrative tasks. AI also plays a key role in identifying material that may remain classified, especially during the declassification review process — a procedure that can otherwise take months or even years.

Gabbard’s remarks come months after her office declassified tens of thousands of documents related to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Frustrated by the traditionally slow pace of intelligence work, Gabbard is advocating for increased integration of private-sector technologies. She stressed the importance of leveraging existing commercial tools to improve efficiency across the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies she oversees.

“How do we look at the available tools that exist — largely in the private sector — to make it so that our intelligence professionals, both collectors and analysts, are able to focus their time and energy on the things that only they can do?” Gabbard asked.

Since taking office, Gabbard has pushed for reforms aimed at modernizing America’s intelligence community, including stronger partnerships with the private sector to reduce reliance on federal-only solutions.