MI5 is setting up a centre to assess threats related to AI, and has placed biological weapons at the top of its list of concerns

In his annual address, the Director of the UK’s domestic intelligence service announced the creation of a dedicated AI unit, working in partnership with the NCA and the NCSC, to inform government decision-making.

During his annual speech on 13 October at Thames House, Sir Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, announced the creation of an AI Threat Assessment Centre. Housed within the British domestic intelligence service, this unit will work with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre (attached to GCHQ), and already relies on external expertise, including that of the AI Security Institute. It produces all-source assessments to guide the government's policy on AI risks.

Malicious uses already observed

McCallum said terrorists have been caught using AI to refine their tracking and modus operandi, with AI-powered drones adding an additional challenge. AI is also intensifying cybersecurity competition and making it possible to produce propaganda tailored to each target. But the scenario he gives the most weight to remains that of biological weapons: AI could put dangerous knowledge at the fingertips of people who shouldn't have access to it, or even help design new pathogens.

The MI5 boss also stressed that humanity has never had to face an actor smarter than it is and capable of outsmarting it, a prospect that he said deserves to be taken seriously. The rest of his speech focused on Russia, which he called the number one aggressor, Iran's hybrid campaigns and the terrorist threat, which has been raised to the level of "serious" since April.