The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI Characteristics

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced significantly in recent years. People already use AI-powered applications such as voice recognition, machine translation and search tools. AI technologies will support medical staff and speed up disaster response. However, people can use AI toward both benevolent and malicious ends. Most AI applications are dual-use: The technology behind a drone that drops off packages will also work for drones equipped with bombs. Once set up and trained, an AI system will perform its task reliably and more efficiently than humans. Also, people can replicate the technology and roll it out on a broad scale. The high degree of transparency in the field of AI research makes obtaining and reproducing newly developed AI software easy. Machine learning helps AI systems to improve continually at the tasks they are performing. But AI systems are equally efficient at executing flawed or malicious directions. Hence, AI can multiply the harm a programming error or malicious intent could cause. 

As AI is efficient, scalable and easy to obtain, the number of actors who could use AI for malicious purposes ...