Revolutionizing Safety and Security With Agentic AI

Artificial intelligence has achieved a lot in recent years, surpassing the progress made over previous decades. The introduction of transformer models has catalyzed substantial academic advances, which were further accelerated by the broad industrial and societal enthusiasm that followed the public release of ChatGPT. This large language model, trained on extensive human-created data, exhibits near-human intelligence within controlled settings; however, it is the emergence of agentic AI that holds the potential to drive us toward artificial general intelligence.

Understanding Agentic AI

Agentic AI describes systems designed to autonomously coordinate large AI models alongside various supportive tools, including sensors, actuators, databases, search engines and comprehensive data repositories.

Large AI models function as the cognitive center of the agent, while these tools act as its peripherals, facilitating task execution and environmental interaction. For example, an AI agent can break down a given task into smaller segments and execute them sequentially using the given tools. The agent then monitors the outcome of each step and adjusts subsequent actions accordingly, iterating through these subtasks until the overall task is accomplished.

Unlike standalone large AI models, AI agents possess the capability to make autonomous decisions and rapidly adapt to dynamic environments without continuous human intervention.

Applications in the Security Industry

The incorporation of agentic AI into safety and security frameworks offers numerous benefits.

In surveillance, AI-powered agents can monitor and analyze real-time video feeds, detect suspicious activities and promptly alert authorities. Additionally, agentic AI’s ability to autonomously interact with and adapt to the physical world will significantly enhance robotic applications within the safety and security sector.

In cybersecurity, agentic AI represents a transformative advancement. Autonomous AI systems can predict, identify and neutralize cyber threats before they escalate, thus ensuring the integrity of sensitive data. By continuously learning and evolving, these systems remain ahead of emerging threats, providing robust protection against cyberattacks.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

While the advantages of agentic AI are considerable, it is essential to address the ethical implications and safety challenges associated with its deployment. Ensuring transparency, accountability and the prevention of misuse are paramount to maintaining public trust and safety; therefore, it is advisable to leverage the capabilities of agentic AI in developing intelligent applications that retain human oversight, at least in the near term.

This approach will allow the industry to harness the benefits of this emerging technology in a controlled manner while establishing strong safeguards for more autonomous use cases. For instance, integrating features such as intelligent video summarization and video-based question-and-answer functionalities into traditional video management systems could significantly enhance the effectiveness of human operators.

he views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.

This article originally appeared in All Things AI, a newsletter presented by the SIA AI Advisory Board.