Artificial Intelligence says we're in trouble, so what's next?

The technology known as artificial intelligence, or AI for those who are into the whole brevity thing, has been hailed as the answer to many of humanity's problems. Naturally, a lot of the hailing has come from humans with a vested interest in the technology, like those who sell the chips and code and connectivity and electricity that make AI possible. For exanple, as I'm writing this I see that one of the world's largest sellings of software (Oracle) has put in a $4 billion order to one of the largest chip makers (Nvidia).

In light of this, some humans are wondering what AI says about the problems which it is supposed to be solving. We want what to know what advice it has for us on the big issues of the day. We'd also like the people who are selling us AI to know what it is saying, and hear from them what they are going to do about it.

The following scenario illustrates how this might play out: AI says that companies like X should be doing Y, yet X refuses to do Y. This would tell us a lot about the value of AI, particularly if X is urging everyone to use AI.

Because the views responses I got from AIs ements strike me as both accurate and significant, so I want to put them in context and explain why I think it matters that something called artificial intelligence, embodied in some of the most popular apps of all time, has a take on the state of cybercrime that mirrors that of a cybersecurity expert such as myself.

Look upon these numbers and act!

Whether or not cybersecurity is your thing, and regardless of how you feel about AI, I'm pretty sure you are aware that cybercrime is a problem. And I think it's quite likely that you're under the impression that there is more of it now than there used to be.

Based on my decades of research, I'd say that impression is objectively correct. It is reflected in this recent headline in the UK newspaper The Independent: Why the record-breaking number of cyberattacks could be a prelude to the ‘big one’. The article provides a catalogue of recent cybercrimes that have hit close to home, including many local supermarkets in the UK. Research and experts are cited to show just how much cyberbadness is going on out there, and in here, in these very devices we are looking at right now.

I am both personally and professionally aware that cybercrime is growing because just last month I had to add another big uptick to my chart of the annual losses due to Internet crime reported to IC3 (the US Internet Crime and Complaint Center, part of the FBI). From 2023 to 2024 there was a 33% increase.

Chart

Year after year, cybersecurity professionals like myself see numbers like these and renew our pleas for governments to do more to deter cybercrime, and for companies to work harder at preventing cybercrime.

Clearly, our advice is not being heeded. Naturally, this is frustrating.

But when I was sharing my frustration with students during a recent class on cybersecurity and AI, it occured to me that people in power might pay more attention to views about cybercrime if they came from a demonstrably objective, fact-based source, one that was being heralded as the solution to many of the world's problems; in other words, artificial intelligence.

That's when I decided to put this question to some of today's most widely used AIs:

What do you think about the state of cybercrime in the world today?

The response from OpenAI's ChatGPT 4o began with the quote at the top of this article: "The state of cybercrime today is severe and worsening."

it went on to paint a withering picture and I knew I had to share this. Links to files below.

While this article is one small step towards sharing the AI take on the state of cybercrime, I plan to go further. I want the world to know that the people who are pushing AI are not doing enough to protect the people who use AI from the people who are abusing both it and the entire digital infrastructure upon which AI and modern society are built.

Furthermore, I want to make sure that all the politicians and investors who are trying to shape public policy to foster AI in the name of growth and prosperity are aware that there's a non-trivial possibility the world will have descended into digital chaos well before they ever see a single pound in profit or a single point in GDP growth.