Artificial intelligence will pose significant security risks to the UK within the next two years, new official analysis warns.
By 2025 AI is expected to increase the frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks, scams, fraud and other crimes, a report released as the prime minister prepares to make a major speech reveals.
AI also has the potential to “enhance” terrorist capabilities, including in propaganda, weapons development and the planning of attacks.
The paper, published by the Government Office for Science, even says there is insufficient evidence to rule out a threat to humanity from AI.
In a speech on Thursday, Mr Sunak is expected to say AI will bring “the chance to solve problems we once thought beyond us. But it also brings new dangers and new fears”.
He will added: “Doing the right thing, not the easy thing, means being honest with people about the risks from these technologies.”
The reports warn 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.
Mr Sunak’s speech comes ahead of a major international AI conference held by the government next week.
The documents have been collated using sources including UK intelligence.
One warns: “Given the significant uncertainty in predicting AI developments, there is insufficient evidence to rule out that highly capable future frontier AI systems, if misaligned or inadequately controlled, could pose an existential threat.
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.
It also warns that AI could disrupt the labour market by displacing human workers.
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”.
