ChatGPT Makes its Security Industry Debut at ISC West
It seems like no recent technology development has caught the attention of the general public quite like ChatGPT. While the AI chatbot technology has entered the general ethos in the worlds of student term papers, marketing tasks, and automated customer service, its effects really have not been felt yet in the security industry, as manufacturers are still looking to leverage the technology’s seemingly meteoric rise.
AlertEnterprise, an industry mainstay in the cyber/physical access control market since its founding by Jasvir Gill in 2007, is the first company to find a way to use ChatGPT in a security product. Introduced in late February, the company's Guardian AI Chatbot powered by OpenAI ChatGPT will make its official debut at ISC West (Booth 13115).
The Chatbot is integrated with the company’s Guardian access control management system and can quickly answer a range of questions related to physical access, identity access management, visitor management, door reader analytics, and security and safety reporting.
According to the press release, the Guardian AI Chatbot has been trained on ChatGPT’s most recent content and prompts, and it can understand and interpret text
and voice using a natural language processing (NLP) engine. Some examples are:
- “Guardian, how many people are on the Trading floor?”
- “Guardian, how many employees and visitors are in the Data Center?”
- “Guardian, how many new employee badges did we issue last month?”
- “Guardian, show me upcoming employee training expirations for restricted area access.”
We caught up with AlertEnterprise SVP of Marketing and Communications Willem Ryan for this exclusive show floor interview to learn more about the system:
Security Business: How does ChatGPT work as it relates to the AlertEnterprise platform?
Ryan: We’ve embedded the ChatGPT AI Chatbot throughout the Guardian platform and are leveraging its power with Generative AI to work alongside security operators as they perform critical tasks for access control, identity management, visitor management and security and safety reporting. The Guardian AI Chatbot is a whole new way of working for GSOC and physical security teams. Physical security and access control systems have always contained a wealth of data but, until now, accessing it was a tedious and a manual process. The chatbot instantly delivers security operators the physical access and security insights that matter most with quick questions and prompts.
Why was it important for AlertEnterprise to be one of (if not the very) first companies in the security industry to announce a ChatGPT product integration?
Actually, we have been working on conversational AI since last year to expand our analytics capabilities, but the release and record-breaking adoption of the
ChatGPT-3 platform was an industry-altering moment. Additionally, 2023 saw the emergence of the (Security Industry Association’s) No. 1-ranked megatrend being cyber-physical convergence. AlertEnterprise has evangelized security convergence for over a decade, and those who have deployed the Guardian platform can see the accumulation of valuable data from connected systems across HR, IT, OT and physical security. The way Guardian AI Chatbot provides simple and immediate accessibility is a game changer in this space.
What are some of the challenges with adopting such a new, still-under-development technology?
Overcoming the misconception with AI technology that data automatically becomes available across public platforms. AlertEnterprise uses proprietary technology to use ChatGPT without sharing customer data on public cloud platforms, so an organization’s data privacy is protected.
Has the ChatGPT interface been tested with security operators?
We started using this technology for safety and emergency evaluation – critical security situations where every second matters. The AI is trained and tested on the data models around these areas. The best part is there isn’t a need to remember any keywords or scripts to ask the questions, you just ask whatever comes to mind and it automatically translates into the queries and data.
Beyond operator uses, where do you see this technology improving AlertEnterprise technology in the future?
The Guardian AI Chatbot will also empower end-users and business owners to ask anything they need, whether reporting lost badges, resetting door pins, needing more access, accessing approvals, or completing audits. Because it is a Generative AI technology, it will also be developed to provide recommendations in various security and safety situations.
How do you envision ChatGPT and similar technology expanding in the security space beyond this application?
As ChatGPT evolves and newer versions come out, it will likely become the standard medium for effective interaction with any security application, such as video analytics, EMS and intrusion detection; however, it needs to be designed in a way that is suited for enterprise environments.
Is this integration just being demoed at ISC West, or is it available to customers now?
It is available now and we are demonstrating at ISC West (Booth 13115). The AI is trained on required data models, so, once it is integrated within a company’s system and the data is ingested, it is ready to go. We will continue expanding support for additional data models so it can be used beyond security operations.
Paul Rothman is Editor-in-Chief of Security Business magazine, a printed partner publication of SecurityInfoWatch.com. Come pick up a free copy at ISC West Booth 16133.
