It takes more than a fancy suit and a plethora of mechanical devices at one’s disposal to be an international spy these days. In the current landscape, it’s disruptive technology like artificial intelligence that is paving the way for future innovations in the intelligence community.
Per a Defense One report, “At the Intelligence Community’s Open Source Enterprise, AI is performing a role that used to belong to human readers and translators at CIA’s Open Source Center: combing through news articles from around the world to monitor trends, geopolitical developments, and potential crises in real-time.”
While AI can do a majority of the tedious tasks, it’s still important for the intelligence community to have an understanding of the technology that does the actual work.
“Imagine that your job is to read every newspaper in the world, in every language; watch every television news show in every language around the world. You don’t know what’s important, but you need to keep up with all the trends and events,” said Dean Souleles, chief technology advisor to the principal deputy to the Director of National Intelligence. “That’s the job of the Open Source Enterprise, and they are using technology tools and tradecraft to keep pace. They leverage partnerships with AI machine-learning industry leaders, and they deploy these cutting-edge tools.”
A Pair of Cybersecurity ETFs to Spy On
As AI continues to become a major component of the intelligence community, security-focused ETFs can benefit further, such as the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (NYSEArca: CIBR) and the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (NYSEArca: HACK).
First up, CIBR seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield f an equity index known as the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity IndexSM. The index is comprised of securities of companies classified as “cybersecurity” companies by the CTA.
Next, HACK seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Prime Cyber Defense Index. The index tracks the performance of the exchange-listed equity securities of companies across the globe that (i) engage in providing cybersecurity applications or services as a vital component of its overall business or (ii) provide hardware or software for cybersecurity activities as a vital component of its overall business.
For a broad play in disruptive tech, investors can look at the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic ETF (NasdaqGM: BOTZ). BOTZ seeks to invest in companies that potentially stand to benefit from increased adoption and utilization of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), including those involved with industrial robotics and automation, non-industrial robots, and autonomous vehicles.
For more market trends, visit ETF Trends.