Rebekah Koffler discusses if the U.S. is prepared to simultaneously provide aid to Ukraine and Taiwan. An open letter recently signed by Elon Musk, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and more than a thousand other prominent people set off alarm bells on advances in artificial intelligence (AI). The letter urged the world's leading labs to hit the brakes on this powerful technology for six months because of the "profound risks to society and humanity." A pause to consider the ramifications of this unpredictable new technology may have benefits. But our enemies will not wait while the U.S. engages in teleological discourse.

Researchers say hackers could weaponize artificial intelligence to conceal and accelerate cyberattacks, and potentially escalate their damage. Scientists warn that hackers could weaponize artificial intelligence (AI) to conceal and accelerate cyberattacks and potentially escalate their damage. IBM researchers last month demonstrated "DeepLocker" AI-powered malware designed to hide its damaging payload until it reaches a specific victim, identifying its target with indicators like facial- and voice-recognition and geolocation. IBM's Marc Stoecklin said with DeepLocker, "AI becomes the decision maker to determine when to unlock the malicious behavior." Meanwhile, the Stevens Institute of Technology's Giuseppe Ateniese has investigated the use of generative adversarial networks (GANs), which contain two neural networks that collaborate to deceive safeguards like passwords; he designed a GAN that fed leaked passwords found online into an AI model, to analyze patterns and narrow down likely passwords faster than brute-force attacks.

Hackers Have Already Started to Weaponize Artificial Intelligence GIF Illustration: Sam Woolley/Gizmodo Last year, two data scientists from security firm ZeroFOX conducted an experiment to see who was better at getting Twitter users to click on malicious links, humans or an artificial intelligence. The researchers taught an AI to study the behavior of social network users, and then design and implement its own phishing bait. In tests, the artificial hacker was substantially better than its human competitors, composing and distributing more phishing tweets than humans, and with a substantially better conversion rate.

Last year, two data scientists from security firm ZeroFOX conducted an experiment to see who was better at getting Twitter users to click on malicious links, humans or an artificial intelligence. The researchers taught an AI to study the behavior of social network users, and then design and implement its own phishing bait. In tests, the artificial hacker was substantially better than its human competitors, composing and distributing more phishing tweets than humans, and with a substantially better conversion rate. The AI, named SNAP_R, sent simulated spear-phishing tweets to over 800 users at a rate of 6.75 tweets per minute, luring 275 victims. By contrast, Forbes staff writer Thomas Fox-Brewster, who participated in the experiment, was only able to pump out 1.075 tweets a minute, making just 129 attempts and luring in just 49 users.

Last year, two data scientists from security firm ZeroFOX conducted an experiment to see who was better at getting Twitter users to click on malicious links, humans or an artificial intelligence. The researchers taught an AI to study the behavior of social network users, and then design and implement its own phishing bait. In tests, the artificial hacker was substantially better than its human competitors, composing and distributing more phishing tweets than humans, and with a substantially better conversion rate. The AI, named SNAP_R, sent simulated spear-phishing tweets to over 800 users at a rate of 6.75 tweets per minute, luring 275 victims. By contrast, Forbes staff writer Thomas Fox-Brewster, who participated in the experiment, was only able to pump out 1.075 tweets a minute, making just 129 attempts and luring in just 49 users.

Human-robot strike teams, autonomous land mines, and covert swarms of minuscule robotic spies: the US Department of Defense's idea of the future of war seems like a sci-fi movie. In a report that dreams of new ways to destroy adversaries and protect American assets in equal portions, the DOD's science research division cements the idea that artificial intelligence and autonomous robotic systems will be a crucial part of the nation's ongoing defense strategy. US military already uses a host of robotic systems in the battlefield, from reconnaissance and attack drones to bomb disposal robots. However, these are all remotely-piloted systems, meaning a human has a high level of control over the machine's actions at all times. The new DOD report sees tactical advantages from humans and purely self-driven machines working together in the field.

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