LONDON—Artificial intelligence (AI) could increase the number of cyber hacking incidents and also enable new forms of cybercrime, a group of 26 experts from around the world have warned in a joint report headed by Cambridge University.
The report, which brings together academic, industrial, and charitable sector experts, described AI as a “dual-use technology” with potential military and civilian uses, akin to nuclear power, explosives, and hacking tools, An-Nahar.com reported in its analysis.
“As AI capabilities become more powerful and widespread, we expect the growing use of AI systems to lead to the expansion of existing threats, the introduction of new threats and a change to the typical character of threats,” the report said.
The authors said that researchers need to consider potential misuse of AI far earlier in the course of their studies than they do at present and work to create appropriate regulatory frameworks to prevent malicious uses of AI.
If the advice is not followed, the report warned, AI is likely to revolutionize the power of bad actors to threaten everyday life. In the digital sphere, they said, AI could be used to lower the barrier to entry for carrying out damaging hacking attacks, An-Nahar.com noted.
The technology could automate the discovery of critical software bugs or rapidly select potential victims for financial crime. It could even be used to abuse Facebook-style algorithmic profiling to create “social engineering” attacks, designed to maximize the likelihood that a user will click on a malicious link or download an infected attachment, An-Nahar.com said.