Manipulating elections, hijacking drones and cars, experts fear AI could do bad things

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years has attracted attention, but the potential risks have also caused concern among many experts.

In the eyes of some experts, in the near future, if the rapidly developing AI technology is used maliciously, it may not only create malicious fake news and cyber attacks, but may even destroy infrastructure.

In a report titled "Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Prediction, Prevention, and Mitigation," 26 experts from the fields of artificial intelligence, network technology, and security warned that if the malicious use of AI technology cannot be effectively controlled, cybercrime will increase dramatically in the coming years.

The report said that if AI technology continues to develop at such a rapid pace, the world's existing digital and physical defense mechanisms will soon be helpless against AI technology.

The report predicts that in the next five to ten years, as AI technology can have a more comprehensive understanding of human behavior, emotions and thoughts and master larger databases, it may create some fake news that is difficult to identify the authenticity and spread widely on social media, thereby influencing or even manipulating elections and other political events through social media and advertising.

In terms of cyberattacks, the report believes that with the power of AI, cybercriminals will be able to commit more precise crimes. In addition, the report also mentioned that AI technology may hijack drones and self-driving cars, and hijacked drones and self-driving cars may even become weapons.

One of the important reasons why AI technology will have such serious consequences if used maliciously in the future is that AI technology has entered people's daily lives. People's behaviors are recorded by AI in different forms, forming a huge database, which makes it possible for the above-mentioned precision crimes.

One of the authors of the report, Dr. Sean O'HEigeartaigh of the Crisis Research Center at the University of Cambridge, pointed out that AI is a technology that changes the rules, and the report predicts what may happen in the next five to ten years. He believes that if AI is used maliciously, it will threaten people's real lives.

Although it does not propose specific response measures, the report urges policymakers and researchers to work together to prepare for possible malicious use of AI, and urges developers to find ways to prevent AI technology from being used maliciously.

In Silicon Valley, where AI is most widely used, the attitudes of the giants are obviously different. Musk, the founder of Space X, has always been worried that the rapid development of AI technology will bring threats to humans, but Facebook CEO Zuckerberg is optimistic about AI technology, and Microsoft's Bill Gates is also relatively "reassured" about AI, believing that in the future AI technology will produce more products and services with less labor.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.