From Minority Report to Mission Possible

Back in 2002, the sci-fi thriller Minority Report reignited, once again, reigniting futuristic fantasies about a world and a police state that had gone too far. At the time, the movie inspired much speculation about the future of our society, how computers would interact with us, and how the law would be proactively enforced based on intent. In the film, they combine technology with the psychic abilities of “precogs” to proactively prevent crimes.

Progs had the ability to predict when crimes were about to be committed ahead of time, enabling law enforcement to act earlier. Twenty years later, in a climate of abundant data, nearly unlimited processing, and at a point in history where law enforcement is discussed most frequently, some of these technologies are starting to look more feasible than ever.

Movie effects vs. the real world

The movie had plenty of special effects, including a computer without a keyboard and a virtual reality interface that was ahead of its time. They had multi-touch screens, retina scanners, insect bots, gesture recognition, and jet packs. While we’re all waiting for the jet packs, some of the bigger future themes are a current part of everyday life:

Autonomous Vehicle Navigation (such as Teslas)

Personalized ads in public (even though on our phones)

Predictive crime prevention

. Natural language AI (similar to OpenAI ChatGP)

If you missed the part where we actually started to proactively stop crime, you can’t be blamed. However, I assure you this is happening, and it is a sign of what is possible now and where we are going.

Proactively stop crime

With the creation of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Both excitement and anxietyWe’re in the middle The Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Revolution. The effective combination of data, processing power, mobile and bandwidth technologies has virtually ensured that we will get to this point. Financial institutions are one place where AI and money laundering are already stopping financial crime in its tracks. As much as we are fascinated by the possibility of preventing crimes in the physical world, it is happening in the cyber world. Cybercrime can affect thousands over the course of a moment, and security professionals use data such as logs, external information, public data, behavioral information, and other indicators of normality and compromise to detect and predict malicious activity.

The power of artificial intelligence security

With ML, professionals can replay thousands upon thousands of behavioral scenarios and AI can extract human-related value from rapid analysis. By leveraging these technologies, companies have been able to dramatically reduce cyber incidents, and mitigate threats before they happen. For example, credit card companies have been able to reduce and virtually eliminate fraud using real-time anti-fraud measures that make use of data such as shopping patterns, shopper location, transaction data, and average purchase price. Combined with multi-factor authentication, these technologies have had a real impact on credit card fraud, and thus the bottom line for financial institutions.

Similarly, artificial intelligence and machine learning are also driving predictions associated with vulnerabilities and indicators of malicious intent in network traffic, aided by rapid and universal access to what appears to be unlimited seas of data. These technologies help promote a better environment through the efficient and continuous search for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Artificial intelligence is also becoming useful in detecting previously unknown threats, also known as “zero-day” exploits before they become fully executed attacks. Using techniques such as user analytics and data behavior analytics, engineers — like prefactors — can now actively recognize unusual events that are likely indications that something unexpected is happening or is about to happen.

2023 is the year of artificial intelligence

By programmatically creating a security baseline that represents all devices, servers, applications, lateral movement, and access across an entire environment, artificial intelligence and machine learning are prerequisites for cyber society. It’s another sign of fantasy leaping from the pages and movie screens into real life.

Right now, consumers only see artificial intelligence and machine learning superficially, like suggesting Netflix favorites, new items to add to your online order, or asking general questions on Chat GPT. However, behind-the-scenes innovation has picked up speed with these AI tools’ back-end API links. These next-gen technologies and unicorns will become more visible in 2023 for everyone to take stock of the massive opportunities as well as societal concerns.