Britain’s MI6 chief says his spies are using AI to disrupt flow of weapons to Russia
- Richard Moore warned that the West was falling behind rivals in the AI race, and depicted machine learning as both a huge potential asset and a major threat
- But he said that China remains the ‘single most important strategic focus’ and ‘greatest priority’ for MI6
Moore, who has previously warned that the West was falling behind rivals in the AI race, said his service “together with our allies, intends to win the race to master the ethical and safe use of AI”.
But he said AI would not replace the need for human spies, arguing that the “human factor” will remain crucial in an era of rapidly evolving machine learning.
“As AI trawls the ocean of open source, there will be even greater value in landing, with a well-cast fly, the secrets that lie beyond the reach of its nets,” he said.
He argued that “the unique characteristics of human agents in the right places will become still more significant”, highlighting spies’ ability to “influence decisions inside a government or terrorist group”.
MI5 spy chief says Russia, China and Iran top threat list to UK
He said Ukraine’s counteroffensive was proving “a hard grind”, but he was optimistic it would succeed.
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Moore also called out Iran for fuelling further conflict in Ukraine by supplying Russia with drones and other weapons – a policy he said “has provoked internal quarrels at the highest level of the regime in Tehran”.
Speaking publicly about spycraft is still something of a novelty for Britain’s intelligence services. The government refused even to confirm the existence of MI6 until 1992, and public speeches by its leaders are infrequent.
Moore chose to give Wednesday’s address in the Czech capital, home of the 1968 “Prague Spring” freedom movement that was crushed by Soviet tanks.
Moore’s only other public speech since becoming head of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, almost three years ago also touched on the power and threat posed by AI. In the November 2021 address, he accused the West of being slow to reckon with AI’s disruptive impact and of lagging behind adversaries who are “pouring money and ambition” into AI and other cutting-edge technologies.
In that speech, he said China was the agency’s “single greatest priority” and said Britain and its allies “must stand up to and deter Russian activity which contravenes the international rules-based system”.
Three months later, Russia invaded Ukraine.