AI MINISTER Kanishka Narayan on Monday (12) warned of the risks posed by artificial intelligence as the UK government announced measures to strengthen the country’s cyber defences.
Speaking at Base One, a science and technology incubator at Imperial College London, Narayan called for a coordinated effort across society to address emerging AI risks.
He warned that as advanced AI systems become more powerful and capable of acting autonomously, the consequences of failures or malicious use could become more serious.
“It seems likely, if not inevitable, that our own cyber defences will be breached,” Narayan said, referring to a recent incident in which an OpenAI agent breached Australian government defences.
“The Australian government said no personal medical records are known to have been accessed, and there is no evidence of wider compromise. But the incident should concern us. It concerns me.”
“Our National Cyber Security Centre has warned that AI will almost certainly make elements of cyber intrusion more effective and efficient,” he said.
Narayan said security minister Dan Jarvis would lead a cross-government programme to strengthen the UK’s de fences against cyber-attacks, following the publication of the Government Cyber Action Plan earlier this year.
The minister, who was born in India and grew up in Wales, also said a new National Cyber Action Plan was in the pipeline. “I want Britain to become one of the hardest countries in the world to attack using artificial intelligence. We will use every power at our disposal. We will legislate wherever necessary,” he said.
“And we won’t look to law alone. We will look to British ingenuity: our scientific expertise, technological capabilities and institutions to understand these increasingly powerful systems, defend against emerging threats and respond when things go wrong.”
Narayan also urged companies developing the world’s most powerful AI systems to heed scientists’ warnings about serious risks, investigate unexpected be haviour and avoid releasing systems if the risks cannot be adequately controlled.
According to the Cabinet Office, the government will examine how “near miss incidents” can be identified and reported, and how lessons can be learned quickly to reduce the risk of future harm.
“I will not accept a future in which Britain depends on technologies it cannot understand or control, while working people bear the costs of progress they had no power to shape... we must build machines that serve us,” Narayan added.
Conservative Friends of India members at the reception in BirminghamCFI
