Generative AI can significantly enhance OSINT efforts through various capabilities and functionalities:
- Idea generation and strategies for approaching open-source investigations: By brainstorming potential approaches to specific topics, AI can provide researchers with new perspectives and methodologies that they might not have considered.
- Automate the writing of small pieces of code to streamline the research process: These snippets of code can be used to perform repetitive tasks, data scraping, or even to automate searches across multiple platforms, saving researchers valuable time and effort.
- Web search capabilities: Although free versions of models like ChatGPT might only have data up to a specific cutoff date, integrating AI with search engines or using premium accounts can provide access to live, up-to-date web data. This allows researchers to gather the most current information available, crucial for timely and accurate intelligence gathering. The Microsoft Bing co-pilot is a good example of a search engine that has integrated generative AI.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): It is a powerful tool within generative AI that enables the analysis and extraction of meaningful information from large text corpora. AI can identify and extract entities, such as names, dates, and locations, from vast amounts of text, making it easier to process and analyze large datasets. This capability is particularly useful in OSINT, where the volume of available information can be overwhelming.
- Organized and well-structured reports: AI can generate tables, CSV files, and other document formats that help researchers present their findings clearly and effectively. This structured presentation of data ensures that key insights are easily accessible and understandable. Please note that using generative AI to generate reports may compromise the privacy of investigations by potentially exposing sensitive data during the content creation process.
Generative AI offers various capabilities to assist and support OSINT, from idea creation and coding to data analysis and reporting. We welcome you to share with us how you use AI to support your OSINT research by emailing us at training@keynorthgroup.com
