Embracing AI in Security: Why Security Pros Need to Jump In Now - Part 2

AppSec Embracing AI in Security: Why Security Pros Need to Jump In Now - Part 2

The Technology is moving faster than anything we have ever seen

In my first post, we explored how technological change has historically created more jobs than it eliminated. Today, let's examine why AI adoption is occurring at a pace we've never seen before—and what this means for you as an information security professional.

AI Adoption: Breaking All Previous Technology Records

The pace at which generative AI is being adopted across industries and by the general public is remarkable. For context, consider these adoption timelines:

  • Telephone: 75 years to reach 50 million users
  • Radio: 38 years to reach 50 million listeners
  • Television: 13 years to reach 50 million users
  • Internet: 4 years to reach 50 million users
  • ChatGPT: Just 2 months to reach 100 million users

This represents the fastest technology adoption in history—significantly outpacing even revolutionary technologies like smartphones and the internet.

What's driving this rapid uptake? Unlike previous technologies that required new hardware, substantial infrastructure, or specialized technical knowledge, generative AI is instantly accessible through existing devices. Anyone with an internet connection can begin using these tools within seconds.

AI Adoption Among the General Public

The democratization of AI access has led to impressive usage statistics. According to recent research:

  • 52% of American adults now use AI large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot
  • 34% of LLM users engage with these tools in spoken conversation at least several times a week
  • The breadth of AI adoption is remarkably diverse—while younger, educated professionals lead in adoption rates, 53% of those living in households earning less than $50,000 are now using these tools

What's particularly striking is that personal use has surpassed professional use. While much media attention focuses on workplace applications, research shows that twice as many people use LLMs for personal learning (51%) than for work purposes (24%).

AI Adoption Across Industries

At the industry level, the pattern of adoption follows a clear knowledge-work gradient. According to UMD-LinkUp AI Maps research, five sectors account for 89% of all AI job postings:

  1. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (25.05%)
  2. Information (23.93%)
  3. Manufacturing (15.90%)
  4. Finance and Insurance (14.41%)
  5. Retail Trade (9.45%)

The concentration of AI jobs in these sectors reflects where AI is creating the most immediate value. Industries with primarily knowledge-based work show the highest AI adoption rates, while sectors requiring complex physical tasks (like healthcare and food service) show lower current adoption.

The "ChatGPT Effect" on Employment

Two years after ChatGPT's launch, we're seeing distinctive patterns in how AI is reshaping employment:

  • Overall job postings decreased by 17% between Q4 2022 and Q4 2024
  • IT job postings specifically declined by 27% during this period
  • But AI job postings increased by 68% in the same timeframe

This "ChatGPT Effect" doesn't suggest companies are employing fewer people overall—rather, it indicates that organizations are shifting their hiring priorities toward AI expertise. This pattern aligns with historical technology transitions, where initial adjustment periods eventually lead to new job creation in roles that leverage the new technology.

Industries Most Likely to Value AI Security Skills

For information security professionals, understanding where AI adoption is most concentrated helps identify the highest-value opportunities. Industries with the highest "AI Jobs Intensity" (ratio of AI job postings to all job postings) include:

  1. Information (3.24%)
  2. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (2.41%)
  3. Finance and Insurance (1.54%)
  4. Manufacturing (1.06%)

These sectors not only have the highest concentration of AI jobs but also face the most complex security challenges related to AI implementation.

The Vibecoding Revolution: New Security Challenges You Must Understand

The AI adoption trend includes a particularly significant development for security professionals: "Vibecoding." This emerging practice allows people with no programming experience to create functional applications simply by describing what they want to an AI system. As Kevin Roose of the New York Times recently demonstrated, anyone can now build custom apps, websites, and automation tools without writing a single line of code.

Vibecoding represents a major shift in how software gets created. This is just the beginning of a trend that's rapidly spreading beyond professional developers to the general workforce. Products such as Bolt.New, Cursor, Lovable, and Bumble are appearing every day. I have personally used Bolt.New and been able to build applications despite not having coded in 30 years. Try it yourself!

For information security teams, this creates an urgent new imperative. When everyone in your organization can become an app developer overnight, the traditional security model breaks down. Consider the implications:

  1. Shadow IT on steroids: Employees across departments can now build and deploy applications without IT oversight or security review.
  2. Exploding attack surface: Each Vibecoded application potentially introduces new vulnerabilities that may not be caught by traditional security processes.
  3. Credential and data exposure: Non-technical creators may inadvertently embed sensitive information in their applications or deploy them without proper access controls.
  4. AI security blindspots: The AI systems generating this code may introduce subtle security vulnerabilities that even experienced professionals might miss.

Security professionals who position themselves at the intersection of AI and security now will be uniquely qualified to help their organizations navigate these challenges. Those who wait will find themselves increasingly overwhelmed by the proliferation of AI-generated applications across their enterprise.

In our next post, we'll explore specifically how AI is transforming information security roles and responsibilities—and why security professionals who embrace these changes will find themselves with expanded opportunities and influence.

For more information about how AppSecAI can help your organization eliminate false positives and automate remediation, visit www.appsecai.io or contact us at automation@appsecai.io.


Bruce Fram
CEO and Founder, AppSecAI

Sources

  1. Imagining the Digital Future. (n.d.). Close Encounters of the AI Kind. Retrieved from https://imaginingthedigitalfuture.org/reports-and-publications/close-encounters-of-the-ai-kind/ 
  2. AI Maps. (2025, February 1). UMD-LinkUp AI Maps AI Jobs Creation: Sector-Level Analysis (Q1 2018 - Q4 2024). Retrieved from https://www.aimaps.ai/download/whitepaper-sheets/UMD-LinkUp-AI-Maps-AI-JOBS-CREATION_SECTOR-LEVEL-ANALYSIS-Q1-2018-through-Q4-2024-February-1-2025.
  3. Metz, C. (2025, February 27). Vibecoding: AI software programming. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/technology/personaltech/vibecoding-ai-software-programming.html