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Do you have a hard time understanding the difference between AI and Gen AI?  With many terminologies in use today in the world of AI, it might be a bit more confusing to distinguish between them. An Introduction to Generative AI & Cybersecurity aims to break down these definitions and share exciting resources to learn more about these concepts.

Artificial Intelligence

AI is a branch of Computer Science that trains systems to perform human-like behaviors. It tries to copy human behaviors or attributes using mathematical and computational processes to simulate human thought processes. AI is applicable in almost every aspect of human life.

Generative AI

Generative AI is a category of Artificial Intelligence that is capable of learning and generating new human-like content of its own. This new content generated is not the same as the dataset used to train the model. It is designed to learn on the go and produce output based on what it is fed.

Henrik Keniberg shared a comprehensive explanation of generative AI and how it evolved

David Sweenor in his comparison of generative AI and traditional AI stated that “Traditional AI focuses on analyzing historical data and making future numeric predictions, while generative AI allows computers to produce brand-new outputs that are often indistinguishable from human-generated content”

Cyber Security

Cyber Security is the practice of protecting digital assets (data, networks, systems, etc) from attacks by Cyber Criminals and unauthorized access. It aims to keep these assets confidential, maintain its integrity, and ensure it is available when needed. 

How Generative AI and Cyber Security intersect

The emerging intersection between Generative AI and Cybersecurity revolutionizes the way Cyber Security professionals can improve their security posture, and identify and respond to incidents. 

A typical example of a generative AI solution designed with new capabilities to improve security operations is the recently launched Microsoft Co-pilot for Security as extensively discussed by Elizabeth Ekedoro

In a video by AWS Developer Advocates, Brandon Carroll and Mike Chambers, they explored the capabilities of Generative AI in risk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and code writing.

In conclusion, understanding all about Generative AI and the role it plays in Cyber Security can not be learnt in just an article. However, it is important to know that the intersection between Gen AI and Cybersecurity will tremendously transform and improve the security of digital assets. Although there are concerns about Artificial Intelligence in general, regulations such as the European AI Act are being put in place to address them.

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