Artificial intelligence (AI)-based cybersecurity isn’t a new concept. Machine learning algorithms, deep learning techniques and other AI technologies are being used to identify malicious patterns, detect anomalies, predict threats and respond to attacks. While there is a lot of excitement and optimism around AI, a certain question arises: Can AI replace human intuition? Can it substitute for security expertise? To answer this question, security leaders must understand the advantages of AI, its challenges and its limitations. 

AI brings three major advantages to cybersecurity. The first is speed. There’s a limit to what humans can analyze in terms of speed and scale. On the other hand, machines can analyze gargantuan amounts of data well beyond human capacity. And machines don’t just analyze; they can respond to threats and report them in real time. For humans to achieve AI-like capacity, it would demand a ridiculous amount of human effort.