AI could become a powerful weapon for criminals and rogue states, Cambridge experts warn

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming powerful enough to significantly enhance the capabilities of criminals, terrorist groups and hostile states unless governments and technology companies strengthen safety measures, according to a new report published by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER).

The report warns that increasingly capable AI systems could make sophisticated cyberattacks cheaper, faster and accessible to a much wider range of malicious actors while also accelerating online disinformation, fraud, biological and chemical threats, and the military use of autonomous weapons.

The warning comes as competition among leading AI developers has produced a new generation of so-called “frontier” AI models, prompting governments and intelligence agencies worldwide to reassess the technology’s national security implications.

The Cambridge report comes at a time when companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta and xAI are releasing increasingly advanced large language models capable of reasoning, writing software, conducting scientific research and completing complex tasks with minimal human supervision.

Unlike earlier AI systems designed primarily to generate text, today’s frontier models can write and debug computer code, analyze vast datasets, browse the internet, use digital tools, plan multi-step workflows and collaborate with users on lengthy projects.

These advances are expected to transform industries ranging from health care and education to engineering and scientific research. AI is already helping researchers accelerate drug discovery, improve productivity and automate time-consuming tasks.

But the same capabilities that promise enormous economic and scientific benefits could also lower the barriers for malicious use.