Britain is caught in a “space between peace and war” as emerging technologies concentrate power in the hands of individuals and corporations, the new head of MI6 has warned. In her first public speech, Blaise Metreweli said the world was “more dangerous and contested now than for decades”, with artificial intelligence and other tools “rewriting the reality of conflict”.
Metreweli, 48, who became the first woman to lead the UK’s foreign intelligence service in September, said power was “becoming more diffuse, more unpredictable” as control over technologies shifted from states to corporations and individuals. She highlighted that some algorithms could become “as powerful as states”, and that information was being “increasingly weaponised”.
The spy chief accused Russia of being insincere about Ukraine peace negotiations, describing President Putin as “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist”. However, she made only brief mention of China, saying it would be “a central part of the global transformation” and that MI6 must inform the government’s understanding of its rise.
Metreweli said MI6 had to become “fluent in technology” and anticipate future advances, as the agency operates in a grey zone between peace and war. She noted that traditional threats from states were now joined by risks from AI-powered drones, lethal bioweapons, and hyper-personalised tools that could become “a new vector for conflict and control”.
