Global AI Experts Sound The Alarm

Twenty-six experts on the security implications of emerging technologies have jointly authored a ground-breaking report--sounding the alarm about the potential malicious use of artificial intelligence (AI) by rogue states, criminals, and terrorists. Forecasting rapid growth in cyber-crime and the misuse of drones during the next decade--as well as an unprecedented rise in the use of'bots' to manipulate everything from elections to the news agenda and social media--the report is a clarion call for governments and corporations worldwide to address the clear and present danger inherent in the myriad applications of AI. However, the report--"The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation"--also recommends interventions to mitigate the threats posed by the malicious use of AI: The co-authors come from a wide range of organizations and disciplines, including Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute; Cambridge University's Center for the Study of Existential Risk; OpenAI, a leading non-profit AI research company; the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international non-profit digital rights group; the Center for a New American Security, a U.S.-based bipartisan national security think-tank; and other organizations. The 100-page report identifies three security domains (digital, physical, and political security) as particularly relevant to the malicious use of AI. It suggests that AI will disrupt the trade-off between scale and efficiency and allow large-scale, finely-targeted, and highly-efficient attacks.