PRAGUE -- British spies are already using artificial intelligence to hamper the supply of weapons to Russia, the head of Britain’s MI6 agency said Wednesday, predicting that Western spies will increasingly have to focus on tracking the malign use of AI by hostile states.
In a speech that depicted machine learning as both a huge potential asset and a major threat, Richard Moore said his staff at Britain's foreign intelligence agency "are combining their skills with AI and bulk data to identify and disrupt the flow of weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine."
Calling China the “single most important strategic focus” for his agency, Moore said, "we will increasingly be tasked with obtaining intelligence on how hostile states are using AI in damaging, reckless and unethical ways.”
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.”
Moore also told an audience at the British ambassador’s residence in Prague that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine had run out of steam and “there appears to be little prospect of the Russian forces regaining momentum.”
He said Ukraine's counteroffensive was proving “a hard grind,” but he was optimistic it would succeed.
Moore said the government of President Vladimir Putin was beset by “venality, infighting and callous incompetence" and the mutiny by Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had “exposed the inexorable decay of the unstable autocracy over which Putin presides.”
He accused Russia of using Wagner as a tool of imperialism in Africa, offering leaders in the Central African Republic, Mali and other countries a “Faustian pact” of protection in return for handing over mineral wealth to Russia.
Moore also called out Iran for fueling 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.