I cannot imagine my debut novel been possible without a technological component to it. From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows, is due for release on September 11th coming. It comes with a technological component, which features in Jack Debaut’s war on terror.
Like real CIA agents, Jack’s story is not stereotypical. His time training as a software engineer offers the CIA a technological advantage in our technology age. The dangerous life Jack leads travels along many highways and bye-ways before the novel ends, which is by design.
When my research began in 2018, my view of corporate America and my time in the Irish Defence Forces structured how I saw the CIA. The process centric organization is indeed what I found. More intriguing than that were the layers the CIA has, in order to do its job.
This deductive process was extensive over a long period. When merged with other information sources, it gave me the story for “From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows”. The antagonist, Saad Al-Zahoni, represented the other side of the coin in his storyline, where he delivered his world view by any means he deemed fit.
I carefully crafted both characters, along with subordinate characters, to show how versatile intelligence agencies had to be. Their jobs are not for the feint hearted and require clever people to step up. I hope this intent will show in my novel upon reading it. Reason being is that I still see real world articles aligned with the premise I developed about the CIA for my novel.
CIA Embraces Generative AI
On July 3rd of this year, NextGov ran with an article on how Intelligence Agencies were embracing the power of generative AI. The CIA was front and center in this article, where they talked about their compartmentalized security challenges regarding commercial AI tools.
I cannot say I’m surprised, as my passive investigation into AI’s accuracy has been less than stellar on not-at-scale testing. This does not diminish generative AI’s potential for intelligence agencies, which see clever people at the CIA bringing AI tools up to standard for their use cases.
Australian spy agencies are also on board with a circa AU$125 million investment in AI technology over the next four years. They have also struck a deal with Amazon to move signal intelligence over to compartmentalized data centers for processing. I am aware of the extensive work Amazon has done with government agencies over the years, making this signal intelligence move a natural progression for Australia and its digitally engaged nation.
From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows, available on pre-order for September 11th release.
I have to chuckle, when I started researching “From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows”, I had to go deep to get a perspective on the technological engagement of the CIA. Fast forward 6 years, and all it takes is a general Google search. The 1st page of returns has more than enough to satisfy the curious reader.
Technological advances in web 2.0 have sped up the time to adoption in ways that many did not see coming. However, I am encouraged to see the intelligence agencies charged with our protection are keeping pace. It’s a nice thought in a world where technology is both a treat and a threat.
About the Author
John is a versatile author known for his gripping fiction narratives in the thriller, action, and suspense genres. With a background as a journalist since 2016, and expertise in cloud technologies as an engineer; John brings a unique blend of storytelling prowess and technical acumen to his work.
