Governments, regulators, and security agencies around the globe are increasingly looking to artificial intelligence (AI) with a mixture of optimism and apprehension, regarding both the rapidly evolving technology’s potential utility to the public sector and the threat it poses when in the wrong hands.
Last week saw the United States National Security Agency (NSA) voice its desire to have access to and make use of all commercial AI models, while on the other side of the Pacific, the top Philippines anti-money laundering (AML) oversight council revealed it has integrated AI into its operations to strengthen its ability to analyze financial data and combat money laundering.
US spies want AI access
According to an August 27 report from Nextgov/FCW, the NSA—the U.S. intelligence agency responsible for global monitoring, signals intelligence, and cybersecurity—is holding extensive discussions with leading AI developers to gain access to “all” AI models in the commercial market.
“We want access to all the models, and we’re going to take advantage of that,” Tim Kosiba, Deputy Director of the NSA, reportedly said during a panel at an Intelligence and National Security event in Bethesda, Maryland – per the Nextgov/FCW report.
He added that “the transformative change that we see today is what these models can actually do.”
Kosiba went on to state that the NSA has already been using AI in various forms for decades, but that the rapidly improving capabilities of frontier models were driving its more aggressive effort to obtain and deploy the technology.
“There are a lot of conversations happening amongst industry, especially the frontier model companies,” Kosiba reportedly said, although he didn’t specify to which models he was referring.
The comments came a couple of months after the White House issued a ‘National Security Presidential Memorandum’ on June 5, 2026, directing the national security enterprise to accelerate advanced AI adoption and to “adapt the best commercial and open-source technologies for mission use.”
The Memorandum was intended to strengthen national security capabilities, direct the rapid onboarding of the most advanced AI models from multiple vendors, drive the buildout of next-generation, high-security computing facilities to run future AI systems at scale, and bolster the talent pipeline, including by establishing an AI National Security Strategic Reserve of top non-governmental experts.
This plan, in turn, followed from U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order of June 2, which called for promoting advanced AI innovation and security.
“It is the policy of the United States to promote AI innovation and security by working collaboratively with the private sector to modernize government and private sector information systems and harden them against external threats,” Trump said.
“My Administration will continue to work closely with industry to ensure that the best and most secure technology is deployed rapidly to confront any and all threats to our country.”
The order also called for U.S. securities agencies, including the NSA, to create a voluntary framework with AI developers through which the latter would be able to engage the Federal Government to determine whether models under development meet the designation of “covered frontier model”—an advanced AI system designated as possessing high-level capabilities.
For those models that meet this designation, they must provide the Government with access for up to 30 days before they plan to release the models, “subject to appropriate confidentiality, cybersecurity, insider-risk, and intellectual-property protection.”
The executive order and its various demands came shortly after the U.S. government found itself embroiled in a high-profile spat with leading AI company Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI models.
In March 2026, Anthropic publicly resisted U.S. military pressure to remove certain AI safeguards, with the company’s CEO, Dario Amodei, saying he would not allow its products to be used for mass surveillance or for fully autonomous weapons.
In response, the Department of War (DoW) threatened to cancel its contract with Anthropic and deem it a “supply chain risk”—a label usually reserved for U.S. adversaries that would carry significant financial implications—if it did not comply with a request to drop the safeguards.
However, Anthropic remained unmoved, with Amodei declaring that “these threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.
The standoff was a frustration for the U.S. administration, which shortly after came out with its Executive Order and Memorandum on AI, to effectively force the hand of developers who may be similarly reluctant in the future.
The NSA Deputy Director’s comments last week appeared to confirm the determination of the U.S. Government and its security agencies to have access to frontier AI technology, although Kosiba—as is the want of spy chiefs—remained tight-lipped about what exactly he meant by “access.”
However, when it comes to making the most of the trending technology, it’s not just the U.S. government that is laying down a marker.
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Philippines turns to AI to combat money laundering
Across the Pacific, the Filipino Government’s Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)—the official financial intelligence unit and central AML authority of the Philippines—announced it has integrated AI into its operations as part of a broader technology upgrade to strengthen its ability to analyze financial data and combat money laundering.
According to local outlet NewsBytes, AMLC executive director Matthew David disclosed the AI deployment during a Senate budget hearing, saying additional funding provided the agency with resources to upgrade its technology infrastructure.
“We were able to procure the necessary equipment, technology, and integrate artificial intelligence in our processes,” David said.
As part of its ongoing efforts to investigate suspicious transactions and potential money-laundering activities, the AMLC works with substantial volumes of financial intelligence, including suspicious transaction reports filed by institutions subject to the country’s AML law.
The use of AI and other analytical systems can assist in handling these large datasets, speeding up the investigation process and helping authorities detect transaction patterns that may require additional attention.
Such an application of the technology is not new, with numerous public and private sector institutions having explored AI’s utility to combat money laundering, particularly in the digital asset space.
For example, back in 2024, payment giant Mastercard (NASDAQ: MA) partnered with AI platform Feedzai to crack down on money laundering and fraud perpetrated using digital currencies; more recently, leading blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis announced that it was adding AI agents to its blockchain platform to help organizations and investigators keep pace with the rise of AI-enabled digital asset crime.
Regarding the AMLC’s progress in applying AI, executive director David reportedly attributed some of the credit to Filipino senators Panfilo Lacson and Sherwin Gatchalian, who supported additional funding for the agency’s technology needs.
According to The Philippine News Agency, Lacson assured the AMLC in September of last year that he would help secure the funding it needed to strengthen its efforts against money laundering and corruption, after noting that the council received only “crumbs” in the 2025 government spending plan.
With the technology upgrade, the AMLC should now have expanded access to AI tools for reviewing financial information, sifting through large volumes of transactions more efficiently, identifying significant patterns, and flagging activity that merits closer examination.
The announcement from executive director David followed on from industry leaders, government officials, and development economists converging at a BusinessWorld forum on May 18, to map out the Philippines’ AI future.
During the event, Secretary of the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Henry Aguda, outlined the government’s approach to the technology, namely that AI governance aligns innovation with safeguards and protection.
He reportedly also stressed the need for trust for AI adoption to grow and claimed that the DICT was prioritizing data protection and cybersecurity as AI tools become more embedded in public services and businesses.
“AI governance can’t be about choosing between innovation and protection. We need both. And what we really need to protect is trust,” Aguda said. “Because without trust, adoption slows down, and the benefits won’t reach the people who need them most.”
He added that “AI is not coming; it’s already here. It’s already part of how we work, learn and deliver services.”
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