After months of warnings from tech executives about the dangers of artificial intelligence, the FBI has a new list of concerns, Scripps News reports. The agency's biggest fears are not only about what the technology does but also about who is using it. A senior FBI official, who acknowledged that the bureau has not done significant outreach on AI, described a concerning situation, or a "threat landscape," as the FBI calls it. He said that China is looking to steal U.S. AI technology and data for AI programs and then use it not just to advance their own AI programs but to influence Americans.
The official said that the FBI is closely monitoring the role that AI may play in the 2024 election and is concerned about the spread of disinformation and deep fake videos. He said that criminals and terrorists are seeking AI to simplify the production of dangerous chemicals and biological substances to increase their potency. He said, "There have been people who have successfully elicited recipes or instructions for creating explosives." He said AI is a force multiplier for crafting fishing e-mails and for using it in other cyberattacks. The FBI has found AI-generated websites that are infected with malware to target users’ sites that have more than a million followers. The bottom line, the FBI says, is there are fewer people, less expertise, and less time needed to make many of these threats, so there's a much lower bar or barrier for entry into AI systems and all the information they have to offer.