On September 7, 2024, a rare event in the modern history of intelligence services transpired. Bill Burns, the CIA Director, and Richard Moore, the head of MI6, talked at the Financial Times Weekend Festival in London.
This was the first time the two heads had been together at a public event in the 77-year history of their agencies’ intelligence cooperation.
It also represents the latest step by American and British intelligence agencies to emerge from the shadows to warn the countries they serve about the world’s mounting threats. Essentially, the two major intelligence organizations claimed to have the authority to mold their respective countries’ foreign policies and global geopolitics.
New Global Order
They stated unequivocally that their plans would now guide the development of the new global order.
Burns and Moore noted that one of the purposes of their joint presence was to highlight the strength of the UK-US relationship in an era of unprecedented global challenges.
“The international world order… is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War,” both intelligence leaders wrote in an article published on September 7, 2024, in the FT. Combating this risk “lies at the heart of our special relationship… which can be relied upon for the next century,” they said.
Burns, 68, is a career diplomat who now works in intelligence, while Moore, 61, is a professional intelligence officer who was once a diplomat. Both are Oxford University graduates who have had postings in Russia, the Middle East, and Asia.
As is usual in intelligence services, their words have multiple meanings. They suggested backing for Ukraine’s strike on the Kursk region. Moore described the onslaught in Kursk as a “typically bold and daring move by the Ukrainians… in an attempt to change the game.” Burns shared similar sentiments.
Middle East
The Middle East crisis drew special attention.
When asked if an agreement could be reached to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Burns, who was actively involved in negotiations, stated: “It’s a question of whether the leaders of both sides are ready to acknowledge that enough is enough and that it’s time to make difficult choices and compromises.”
Burns noted that while he couldn’t guarantee that negotiations would be successful, “I also can’t say how close we are now.” A potential agreement between Israel and Hamas was “90 percent” completed, but “the last 10 percent” was always the most difficult aspect.
A more detailed proposal would come “in the coming days… and I hope they – the leaders of Israel and Hamas – will understand what’s at stake.”
Burns also emphasized that a two-state solution is critical for lasting peace, as it’s “vital to give some sense of hope for tomorrow, not just to Gaza but to all Palestinians and Israelis.”
“It’s a very difficult goal to achieve… but the only thing I would say is: show me a better alternative,” he said.
The Israeli government is known to have categorically rejected the recognition of a Palestinian state. The explanation is obvious: the new state would be led by Hamas. Given Moore’s close ties with Erdogan, the British and Turkish governments would have complete authority over the peacekeeping forces.
The two agencies are presumably more interested in this. MI6 saw Netanyahu’s planned travel to Beijing in November 2023 to mark the tenth anniversary of China’s “Belt and Road” program as a disaster for Britain’s influence in the Middle East, as he had grown too close to Russia and China.
It is likely that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the knowledge of Turkey’s “best friend,” Richard Moore, has recently increased his condemnation of Israel and its attacks on Gaza, in contrast to his cautious tone in the days following Hamas’ October 7 onslaught.
Erdogan described Israel as a “terror state” that threatens “all of humanity,” referred to Netanyahu as a “genocidal murderer” and “the Hitler of our time,” and warned that his army could enter Israel to defend Palestinians.
He also targeted Israel’s Western supporters, slamming US senators who welcomed Netanyahu when he addressed Congress in July 2024.
Tensions rose in early September when Turkish police imprisoned over a dozen members of the nationalist Turkish Youth Union for attacking two US Marines on shore leave in Izmir, one of Turkey’s most pro-Western cities.
Erdogan avoids crossing the line in relations with the United States, and diplomats say relations between NATO partners remain positive, particularly after Washington agreed earlier this year to sell Turkey billions of dollars in F-16 fighter fighters.
However, the Turkish president has backed up his harsh rhetoric against Israel with actions. Ankara placed a trade embargo on Israel, attempted to join South Africa’s case in The Hague, accusing it of genocide, and asked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speak in parliament.
Ankara, which has long housed Hamas political members, warmly welcomed the militant group. In April, Erdogan hosted its now-deceased leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and compared the group to Turkey’s “liberators” in their century-long struggle for independence.
China Threat
Despite the threat from Russia and the possibility of violence in the Middle East, Burns and Moore both stated that China’s expanding dominance is their greatest problem.
Burns stated that the CIA’s financing for counter-China operations has tripled in the last three years, accounting for 20% of the agency’s budget, and that he has visited China twice in the last year for meetings aimed at “avoiding unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Moore said constant interaction with his Chinese counterparts “essential.”
AI Focus
Burns and Moore’s FT piece focuses on artificial intelligence (AI). “We are using AI, including generative AI, to enhance intelligence activities — from summarizing to idea generation and helping identify key information in a sea of data. We are training AI to protect and ‘red team’ our own operations to ensure we can still remain secret when necessary. We are using cloud technologies to help our brilliant data specialists make the most of our data, and we are partnering with the most innovative companies in the U.S., the UK, and around the world.”
The CIA wants to improve its multi-cloud environment for advanced AI programs, but this would require industry collaboration, according to a senior federal official speaking at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington on September 5, 2024.
Juliana Gallina, the CIA’s Deputy Technical Director for Digital Innovation, stated that the agency would increasingly look into employing generative AI to optimize human-machine interface operations.
“We need all variations of the cloud, from hybrid to private cloud… we still need high-performance computing,” Gallina said. “We may still need on-premises computing for all these things, for the full spectrum of our operations.”
“We need a multi-cloud solution to truly mature with generative AI, to use large language models or diffusion models to really optimize our performance,” she continued.
Gallina explained that generative AI is gaining popularity because it is far more “intuitive for end users” than traditional machine learning techniques.
This represents a shift in the intelligence community’s approach to data and human-machine learning, particularly given the vast amounts of open-source data. Gallina stated that generative AI could play an important role in future CIA operations.
“Generative AI is much more popular than traditional machine learning approaches for us, so I think in the future we will continue to use both approaches in our enterprise,” Gallina said.
Gallina described the CIA as a “pioneer” in cloud adoption inside the federal government, having first used multi-cloud systems in the early 2010s. She explained that technical innovation and use are in the agency’s “DNA,” and they intend to keep innovating.
She addressed potential industry partners, saying: “If you’re in the industry and you’re listening, eager to learn, and curious about us, then we’re curious about you, too.”
Some leading AI development companies in Silicon Valley follow a “revolving door” philosophy, working today in the tech industry, then at the CIA, and then back in the tech business.
Nand Mulchandani, the CIA’s Chief Technology Officer, previously worked in the private sector as the director of many AI companies.
Richard Moore is a strong supporter of expanding MI6’s partnership with AI development businesses. He also proposed easing prohibitions on the use of AI for intelligence purposes in the House of Lords.