Global Issues Evening with Jen Easterly: “The Promise and Peril of Emerging Technology”

On September 15, the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville welcomed Jen Easterly, Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), to the University of North Florida for a timely and thought-provoking Global Issues Evening on “The Promise and Peril of Emerging Technology.”

Easterly, former head of CISA and one of the nation’s foremost voices on cybersecurity, described Artificial Intelligence (AI) as “the most powerful technology of our lifetime.” While acknowledging its potential to both strengthen and undermine security, she emphasized that if developed responsibly, AI could “tip the balance in favor of cyber defense.”

Easterly framed today’s cybersecurity challenges not as a failure of defense, but as a software quality problem. She argued that many of the vulnerabilities exploited by malicious actors stem from how software is designed and deployed, often prioritizing speed to market over safety. “There is no cybersecurity problem,” she said, “only a software quality problem.”

Easterly’s message was ultimately one of optimism and empowerment. She outlined how AI can revolutionize the way we approach cybersecurity by automatically detecting and correcting flaws in code—often faster and more effectively than humans can. By leveraging AI, she said, we can “end the cycle of endless patches” and proactively secure systems before attacks occur.

The Council was honored to host Ms. Easterly for this insightful program exploring the intersection of technology, security, and human responsibility in the digital age.

Please click HERE to read Council member Paul Herman’s detailed recap of the event, which was presented in partnership with the University of North Florida’s Distinguished Voices Lecture Series.