The recent cyber attack on organisations around the world, including our very own NHS, has been in the minds of professionals for a long time yet nonetheless for many others has clearly been something of a wake-up call. In the near future, as artificial intelligence (AI) systems become more capable, we will begin to see more automated and increasingly sophisticated social engineering attacks.
The rise of AI-enabled cyberattacks is expected to cause an explosion of network penetrations, personal data thefts, and an epidemic-level spread of intelligent computer viruses. Ironically, perhaps our best hope to defend against AI-enabled hacking is by using AI. Yet this is very likely to lead to an AI arms race, the consequences of which potentially may be catastrophic in the long term, especially as big government actors join the cyber wars.