In an Age of Intercepts, the C.I.A. Makes the Case for Spies

Eavesdropping on communications provides limited insight, the agency’s espionage chief argues in a new podcast. Only humans can tell the full story.

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Officers stand guard outside the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Va. In recent months, the C.I.A. has been unusually open about its efforts to recruit spies and the importance of its work.

Intelligence-gathering today relies on electronic eavesdropping on calls and text messages as well as high-resolution satellite images. But in its new podcast, the C.I.A. argues that even in the age of artificial intelligence and ubiquitous intercepts, human sources are more important than ever.

Only with a human source can intelligence officers make proper sense of intercepts and understand the context of an overheard conversation, the C.I.A.’s espionage chief, Tom Sylvester, says in the podcast, which the agency released on Wednesday.

The deputy director for operations, the formal title of the person in charge of espionage, often remains — at least partly — in the shadows. So Mr. Sylvester’s appearance on the podcast is unusual. Keeping in character, the hosts refer to him on the show only as Tom.

Mr. Sylvester took charge last summer, replacing David Marlowe, who was given the job at the beginning of the Biden administration but recently retired.

The agency does not regularly allow its senior officials to be interviewed by journalists. And so the podcast, which offers about a half dozen episodes a season, offers a kind of unique — if controlled — look at a key part of the C.I.A.’s operations.

In recent months, the C.I.A. has been unusually open for a secretive spy agency about its recruiting efforts and the importance of its work. The push comes as the public has grown more familiar with the power of satellite imagery and intercepted communications to give the White House and the Pentagon unique insight into what Russia, China and other adversaries are up to.

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