MI5 is using AI to root out terrorists by deciphering whether those who watch violent videos pose a threat, spy chief says
- Ken McCallum revealed MI5 developed own AI tools to sift through online videos
MI5 is using artificial intelligence to decipher whether those who watch violent videos pose a terrorist danger.
Spy chief Ken McCallum has revealed that MI5 has developed its own AI tools to sift through online videos being watched by suspects, to determine whether potential terrorists on the path to violent radicalisation present a risk.
The technology also detects violence in images so staff don’t have to watch videos of beheading and torture.
In a speech to students at Glasgow University highlighting the role of maths and data science in keeping the country safe, MI5’s director general said advances in AI were ‘changing our world: Your world and my world alike’.
He added: ‘Understanding whether, say, a prolific contributor to extreme Right-wing online forums is also watching graphic beheading videos can help in assessing the level of risk they might pose.’
Spy chief Ken McCallum (pictured) has revealed that MI5 has developed its own AI tools to sift through online videos being watched by suspects, to determine whether potential terrorists on the path to violent radicalisation present a risk
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Mr McCallum continued: ‘We have put in place automated capabilities to detect violent material within large data streams.’
MI5 is also implementing AI – which is already being used by other intelligence services – to analyse bugged conversations, Mr McCallum suggested.
He said: ‘It’s not a secret that MI5 needs to make sense of masses of audio data, as we strive to penetrate the intentions and plans of spies and of terrorists.’
He added: ‘When I joined the organisation, converting that raw audio into useful information was a painstaking task for hundreds of professionals sat wearing headphones. Today, we want to automate as much as possible.’
Mr McCallum, who studied maths at the university, said he wanted to recruit fellow graduates interested in defence, security and AI.
But he warned potential applicants that being a spy isn’t like the movies: ‘I can confirm mathematically that James Bond is 94.83 per cent fiction.
‘Whether it’s in popular culture or in some of the wilder conspiracy theories, the fact that we don’t – can’t – say too much about our work, leads to others filling the gap.’
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