CS Mar-Apr 2024

ook review
AI - WEAPON OF WAR?
AI HAS BECOME A VAST TOPIC OF DEBATE: WILL IT HELP US THRIVE OR PROVE OUR NEMESIS?
A NEW BOOK TACKLES THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THIS CONTROVERSIAL TECHNOLOGY HEAD ON
When your subject matter is artificial
intelligence - and your mission is
to confront how this controversial
technology has already been armed and
equipped for malicious and adversarial
purposes, and will be even more so in the
days ahead - you know you are likely to
have an audience out there that will sit up
and take notice.
With his book, 'The Language of Deception:
Weaponizing Next Generation AI', author
Justin Hutchens will undoubtedly secure such
a reaction, not just because AI has arguably
become the most talked about topic on the
planet - yes, even more so than Taylor Swift -
but because the artificial intelligence and
cybersecurity veteran guides the reader
expertly along the path that has spawned
this technology.
In his hands, there is an inevitability about
all of this. We are at the crossroads we have
reached, Hutchens argues, because of our
past, a history he revisits with admirable
exactitude and in fine detail: from artificial
social intelligence to psychological exploitation;
from consciousness, sentience and
understanding to weaponising technical
intelligence; his wide-ranging powers of
observation and analysis are fully brought
to bear.
There is a grim irony in the fact that, with AI
now commanding masses of column inches
and often apocalyptic headlines in the media
every day, and with every politician, entrepreneur
and 'expert' seemingly having an opinion
about the technology and the dark places it
may take us, Hutchens recalls a time - way
back in June 2022 - when he presented
research at the world's largest annual hacking
convention, DEF CON, which itself enjoyed a
massive turnout. Not so the AI Village where
he was speaking. Only a small group of
doughty enthusiasts showed up. As he recalls
in his book, "most people were not paying
attention" - well, they certainly are now.
As Hutchens states, AI "is already poised to
transform every part of our lives. The world is
going to radically change in the coming years,
and emerging AI technology is going to be
at the center of it all. It is critical that people
understand the risks that come along with
these new capabilities, and how we can
safeguard ourselves against those risks".
Certainly, there is much to cause alarm in
what he imparts, but equally the book is a call
to action. "Unfortunately, there is no turning
back the sands of time, and there is no way
to universally unlearn this knowledge that
we now collectively possess. We are going to
have to find a way to live with this technology.
We are going to need to identify ways to
come together, establish global partnerships,
and address these problems on a unified
front. The consequences of next generation
AI will inevitably impact far more than one
culture or organization. If there has ever been
a time for the many factions of humanity to
set aside their differences and act on behalf
of the common good, that time is now."
ALL THE ESSENTIALS...
'The Language of Deception: Weaponizing Next Generation AI'
Author: Justin Hutchens (ISBN: 9781394222544)
Published January 2024 by Wiley
Paperback and ebook, priced £26.99
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