AI-Driven Expert-Validated Threat and Foreign Influence Assessments

Speaker: Ms. Jacki Davenport (Seerist)

Date: 25 January 2024

Speaker Session Summary

Seerist developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled threat intelligence platform that utilizes information from open-source resources to identify, monitor, and track global threats. Alongside Deloitte, Seerist also developed the Foreign Influence Risk Index (FIRI), which examines the dynamics of great power competition. Seerist’s AI-enabled platform mines data from over 6 million open-source resources, including news articles and social media sites, to identify potential threats. Ms. Davenport assured the audience that, although the platform incorporates AI, it still relies on human analysts to verify events and ensure accurate coding. The partnership between a human decision-maker and the AI is crucial, particularly given the vast amount of online content generated daily by over 5.30 billion global internet users. These users contribute to the substantial data that Seerist’s platform must sift through. 

Seerist’s platform faces challenges from the presence of millions of online bots, creating significant white noise in the information environment. To address this noise and minimize duplicate datapoints, Seerist employs a duplication and verification tool. Ms. Davenport highlighted that the platform offers analysts various options to tailor information by actor and region. Users can filter stories by country and assess how an event emotionally impacts specific populations. Furthermore, the data allows users to draw correlations between the actions and reactions of actors, such as China’s use of media to influence Japan after Japanese politicians congratulated Taiwan’s new president on their political victory. The tool extends beyond showcasing how countries seek to influence each other through campaigns; it can also indicate whether an actor targets another through economic, military, political, infrastructure, information, or other social mechanisms. 

Speaker Session Recording

Briefing Materials

Biography: Jacki Davenport is a Senior Federal Sales Executive at Seerist, focused on providing AI-enabled solutions to the Department of Defense. She is a seasoned intelligence professional, who carries a wealth of technical and targeting experience in both the cyberspace and special operations domains, garnered from her 23 years of service in the United States Air Force. Pioneering new technology while in uniform, Jacki’s continued focus on creative solutions to enduring intelligence, influence and information challenges continues to drive innovation at Seerist. She has created multiple successful cross-functional projects, responsible for software developments and continued learning within Seerist and across several components of the Armed Forces and Intelligence Community.