RSAC 2026 saw AI take centre stage, with experts weighing automation, oversight and the ongoing need for human intelligence in cybersecurity, even as concerns persist. According to Dark Reading, the conference highlighted both AI’s transformative potential and the risks it introduces, under the banner of the theme “The Power of Community.” Attendees noted the notable absence of the US federal government, a gap that many saw as altering public-private partnership dynamics and AI governance discussions.
The event underscored a tension between speeding up security operations with agentic AI and preserving human supervision to guard against mislabeling or uncontrolled automation. Several sessions explored vulnerabilities from AI coding assistants and the pressure to deploy tools rapidly, while others showcased a SOC example where AI reportedly identified a malicious insider on day one.
Despite the anxieties, the discussions repeatedly returned to sustaining human contributions and governance as essential to realising AI’s benefits in security.