'It's beyond human scale': AFP defends use of artificial intelligence to search seized phones and emails

The Australian federal police says it had "no choice" but to lean into using artificial intelligence and is increasingly using the technology to search seized phones and other devices, given the vast amount of data examined in investigations. The AFP's manager for technology strategy and data, Benjamin Lamont, said investigations conducted by the agency involve an average of 40 terabytes' worth of data. This includes material from the 58,000 referrals a year it receives at its child exploitation centre, while a cyber incident is being reported every six minutes. "So we have no choice but to lean into AI," he told a Microsoft AI conference in Sydney on Wednesday. "It's beyond human scale, so we need to start to lean in heavily on AI, and we're using it across a number of areas."