AI could help terrorists build bioweapons, Sunak report warns

Artificial intelligence will pose major security risks to the UK within two years, new analysis by Rishi Sunak’s government has warned.

AI has the potential to “enhance” terrorist capabilities – including propaganda, bioweapons and attack planning, according to a report released as the PM made a major speech on the “breathtaking” pace of change.

The official report by the Government Office for Science also warned that by 2025 AI is expected to increase the frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks, scams, fraud and other crimes.

Speaking on Thursday morning, Mr Sunak said the changes brought by AI could be as “far-reaching” as the industrial revolution or the arrival electricity and the internet.

The PM said he agreed with experts who believe the extinction threat from AI should be treated like the threat of pandemics and nuclear war, as he called for a global expert panel to address the issue.

Mr Sunak also claimed that the UK was doing “far more than any other country to keep you safe”, as he announced that the government will establish the world’s first AI institute in the UK.

Mr Sunak told a press conference that AI would bring “the chance to solve problems we once thought beyond us – but it also brings new dangers and new fears”.

Quoting a statement made by hundreds of AI experts earlier this year, Mr Sunak said: “Mitigating the risk of extinction by AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

On the major risks ahead, the PM said: “Get this wrong and AI could make it easier to build chemical or biological weapons. Terrorist groups could use AI to spread fear and destruction on an even greater scale.”

He added: “Criminals could exploit AI for cyber attacks, fraud or even child sexual abuse … there is even the risk humanity could lose control of AI completely through the kind of AI sometimes referred to as super-intelligence.”

Mr Sunak said he did not want to be “alarmist” and highlighted the benefits AI could bring – praising its potential use in the NHS to diagnose and prevent strokes and heart attacks, as he announced an extra £100m for AI treatments for previously incurable diseases.

The PM also confirmed that he had invited China to his global AI summit at Bletchley Park next week – arguing that was “the right thing to do” because the world’s leading AI powers should discuss the threats and opportunities.

The Tory leader said it was “not an easy decision” to invite Chinese officials – and admitted that he could not say with 100 per cent certainty that they will turn up.

Deputy PM Oliver Dowden said China had accepted an invitation. The decision to invite Beijing has caused controversy in some quarters, including among Tory MPs, at a time when relations remain tense.

Mr Dowden said the government did still expect Chinese officials to attend the crucial summit. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is the case that they have accepted but … It is the case that you wait and see who actually turns up at these events. We do expect them to come.”

The new UK government report warns that AI is likely to make cyber-attacks, faster, more effective and larger scale. This will happen via more tailored phishing methods or by replicating malware. Another risk is what is termed the “erosion of trust in information”.

“Deepfakes”, where fake videos are created using someone’s likeness and what are termed “hyper-realistic bots”, a form of fake social media profile risk “creating fake news, personalised disinformation, manipulating financial markets and undermining the criminal justice system”, the report warns.

“By 2026 synthetic media could comprise a large proportion of online content, and risks eroding public trust in government, while increasing polarisation and extremism,” it adds.

The Government Office for Science documents, collated using sources including UK intelligence, even says a wider threat to the future of humanity from AI cannot be ruled out.

One warns: “There is insufficient evidence to rule out that highly capable future frontier AI systems, if misaligned or inadequately controlled, could pose an existential threat.”

It also warns that AI could disrupt the labour market by displacing human workers. It suggests a so-called “robot tax” – a levy on businesses profiting from the replacement of workers by AI – might be needed to protect the economy.

In terms of capabilities, the government’s paper notes that frontier AI can already perform “many economically useful tasks” such as conversing fluently and at length, and being used as a translation tool or to summarise lengthy documents and analyse data.

Technology secretary Michelle Donelan said that by publishing the report the UK is the “first country in the world to formally summarise the risks presented by this powerful technology”.

She added that there was “no question that AI can and will transform the world for the better” but she said, “we cannot harness its benefits without also tackling the risks”.