The head of MI5 has warned that terrorists could use artificial intelligence to develop biological weapons and carry out drone attacks on the UK. Sir Ken McCallum said the pioneering technology could be used to create “a number of pathogens not previously seen”.
Britain’s top intelligence officer said AI could help extremists access a new arsenal of weapons previously out of their reach. Terrorists want to use “AI-enabled” drones to wreak havoc with rapidly advancing technology, “supercharging” the race between Britain’s enemies and security services, Sir Ken said.
AI risks and terrorist capabilities
The intelligence chief said: “My adrenaline thresholds are set pretty high, I’m not easy to alarm and neither is my organisation. But we are clear that, just as the benefits of AI are real, so are the national security risks.
“Today AI is already supercharging the cybersecurity contest between attackers and defenders. It can produce propaganda and radicalising material tailored to the individual.
“We’ve caught terrorists seeking to exploit AI to improve their reconnaissance and attack methodologies, with AI-enabled drones adding a new twist.
“Not yet realised but the misuse case to which I’d attach greatest weight is AI’s potential to change the stakes on existing or even new bioweapons.”
New AI Threat Assessment Centre
Sir Ken revealed that the Security Service has “caught terrorists seeking to exploit AI to improve their reconnaissance and attack methodologies, with AI-enabled drones adding a new twist”. MI5 will house a new AI Threat Assessment Centre to bring together specialists to combat the risks posed by the tech.
When asked whether AI could turn the common cold into a lethal virus, he said: “One concern would be that comparatively low-sophistication actors may have an ability uplift in the area here if these guardrails do not function as intended.
“For the last 25 years, if you look at Al Qaeda in particular, it has long been that many terrorists would dearly love to have some capability around chemical, biological or radiological weaponry, but that has not been easy for them to achieve.
“One risk – this has not yet manifested – but one risk is that AI could enable dangerous knowledge to get into the hands of those who we all would not rather didn’t have that knowledge.
“A second different risk, much discussed on open source, and I am not in any way seeking to hype this risk, but it deserves sober attention, is the possibility that AI could generate a number of pathogens not previously seen.
“These are among the risks we are seeking to address with our many partners in the UK and internationally.”
