The UK government cautions that artificial intelligence (AI) may heighten the vulnerability to cyber-attacks and undermine trust in online content by 2025.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to discuss the opportunities and address the ‘risks’ associated with AI on Thursday. The paper to be presented incorporates evaluations from UK intelligence agencies and will serve as a key topic of discussion.
He has previously met with prominent figures in AI development, including the leaders of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and Google DeepMind, a UK-based AI company.
The dangers around generative AI
The report also suggests that AI could potentially be used in the planning of biological or chemical attacks by terrorists.
The Government’s report specifically focuses on generative AI, the technology that drives popular chatbots and image generation software.
It’s based partly on declassified information derived from intelligence agencies.
According to the report, by 2025 generative AI could be “used to assemble knowledge on physical attacks by non-state violent actors, including for chemical, biological and radiological weapons”.
Although efforts are underway to counter these threats, “the effectiveness of these safeguards vary”.
While there remain obstacles to obtaining the necessary knowledge, raw materials, and equipment for attacks, these barriers are falling – possibly accelerated by AI, warns the report.
By 2025, AI is likely to facilitate the development of more rapid, more effective, and larger-scale cyber-attacks.
Joseph Jarnecki, a researcher specialising in cyber threats at the Royal United Services Institute, points out that AI could assist hackers in mimicking official language, a skill they have previously found challenging.
“There’s a tone that is adopted in bureaucratic language and cybercriminals have found that quite difficult to harness,” he told the BBC.
UK as a global leader in AI safety
The report comes before a speech by Mr. Sunak, in which he is expected to outline the UK government’s strategy for ensuring the safety of AI and positioning the UK as a global leader in AI safety.
“AI will bring new knowledge, new opportunities for economic growth, new advances in human capability, and the chance to solve problems we once thought beyond us. But it also brings new dangers and new fears,” Mr Sunak is expected to say on Thursday.
He will also address the associated risks and fears, and ensure people “have all the opportunities for a better future that AI can bring”.
Frontier AI
The speech serves as a precursor to a government summit scheduled for the following week, focusing on the regulation of “Frontier AI” – future AI systems that the government says “can perform a wide variety of tasks” and “exceed the capabilities of today’s most advanced models”.
The debate
The question of whether these systems might pose a danger to humanity is a topic of debate. Another recently released report from the Government Office for Science, an advisory body to the prime minister and cabinet, says “many experts consider this a risk with very low likelihood and few plausible routes to being realised.”
The report further explains that for AI to pose a threat to human existence, it would require some level of control over critical systems, such as weaponry or financial infrastructure.
Furthermore, they would need to acquire new abilities, including the capability to enhance their own programming, the skill to evade human supervision, and a sense of autonomy.
Nevertheless, the report highlights “there is no consensus on the timelines and plausibility of when specific future capabilities could emerge”.
The major AI corporations have predominately agreed that regulation is necessary, and their representatives are expected to participate in the summit.
However, Rachel Coldicutt, an expert on the societal impact of technology, raised concerns about the summit’s focus.
She argued that it places excessive emphasis on future risks, saying, “It makes loads of sense that technology companies, who stand to lose more by being regulated about the things they’re making in the here-and-now, will focus on long-term risk.”
But, she noted that the government reports are “moderating some of the fervour” surrounding these futuristic threats and highlighting the divide between “the political position and the actual technical one”.
Final thought
The future of AI carries both opportunities and risk. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to addressing AI’s dangers is pivotal. As we explore the potential of generative AI and navigate uncharted territory with “Frontier AI,” we must bridge the gap between our aspirations and the darker realities.
