US-CERT

Is AI Making Us Worse at Cybersecurity?

Joshua Goldfarb, Field CISO at F5, reflects on a recent interaction that highlighted how professionals are increasingly treating colleagues like AI tools by requesting ready-made presentations and content without seeking guidance or lessons learned. He argues that over-reliance on AI is eroding key human qualities essential to the security profession, including creativity in problem-solving, the use of humor to communicate difficult topics, and genuine emotional sincerity that builds trust. Goldfarb also points to homogenized vendor messaging at conferences, declining precision in professional communication, and weakening critical thinking skills when analysts turn to AI for analysis and suggestions instead of tackling novel situations themselves. While acknowledging AI's benefits for productivity and attacker capabilities, he warns that certain tasks should remain firmly in human hands to preserve the industry's depth and effectiveness. Goldfarb shares his personal practice of refusing AI assistance for any content bearing his name, from topic selection to final writing, and urges security professionals to set similar boundaries. The piece concludes that resisting AI for creative and analytical work will ultimately strengthen the quality of security output across the field.