AI 'espionage' is a reality that companies need to be 'wary of,' DNI Jay Clayton says

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U.S. companies and the Trump administration both "need to be wary" of foreign espionage attempts as the race for artificial intelligence dominance continues, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told CNBC on Friday.

AI "amplifies" existing cybersecurity risks toward U.S. digital infrastructure, which is interconnected with critical systems related to everything from public goods to the national defense and global communications, Clayton said on "Squawk Box."

It's "why we're focused on hardening those systems" and using "our commitment to continue to lead to stay ahead of those nefarious actors," said Clayton, who leads a new White House AI task force.

Clayton was asked how concerned Americans should be with the threat of foreign spying in light of the recently revealed case charging Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan with allegedly installing a recording device in an OpenAI executive conference room. Alfozan has not been charged with espionage; the federal charge involves alleged interception of oral communications.

Alfozan, who was an OpenAI employee, had booked a one-way plane ticket to Saudi Arabia with his wife and another family member prior to his arrest, according to federal prosecutors.

"It's something that our private sector companies need to be wary of. We, as a government, need to be wary of," he said.

The OpenAI incident "shows the lengths that people will go to try and supplant our leadership in this, or at least stay close to us in this emerging technology," Clayton said.

An ex-CIA official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public information, told CNBC this week that the case is "probably the tip of the iceberg."

The task force also established three subcommittees that are focused on different AI-related issues. One is tasked with reporting and response, another with assessing critical infrastructure and working with the private sector, and a third with law enforcement and responsibility, Clayton said.