Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Warns of AI Misuse by Rogue States and Terrorists

Google's former chief warns AI could lead to a 'Bin Laden' style attack

TL;DR: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt expressed concerns about AI being weaponized for terror, emphasizing the risk of misuse by terrorists or rogue states. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke to the BBC to discuss his concerns about artificial intelligence, highlighting a less commonly expressed fear: the possibility that AI could be weaponized for terror. Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2017, has been a strong advocate for responsible AI development. While the company is pushing towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) with heavy investments in Google Gemini, Schmidt has remained insistent on prioritizing safety throughout the process: "It's really important that governments understand what we're doing and keep their eye on us." Credit: Citadel His main fear lies in the possibility of AI falling into the hands of terrorists or "rogue states" - groups that could misuse the technology to inflict harm. "Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal. This technology is fast enough for them to adopt that they could misuse it and do real harm." Schmidt specifically pointed to the risk of AI being used to create biological weapons, cyberattacks, or other forms of mass destruction. He references a chilling scenario reminiscent of past global threats: "I'm always worried about the 'Osama Bin Laden' scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people." Despite his fears, the former Google chief agrees that over-regulation could stifle innovation in the AI sector. At the Paris AI Action Summit this week, the Trump Administration refused to sign a global agreement that would set standards around the safe and ethical development of AI. This agreement was signed by dozens of countries, including France, China and India. "The AI revolution which is the most important revolution in my opinion since electricity, is [now] not going to be invented in Europe." he said in response to the proposed regulations.

Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt fears for 'Bin Laden' AI scenario

Mr Schmidt agreed with US export controls on powerful microchips which power the most advanced AI systems. Before he left office, former US President Joe Biden restricted the export of microchips to all but 18 countries, in order to slow adversaries' progress on AI research. The decision could still be reversed by Donald Trump. "Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal," Mr Schmidt said. "This technology is fast enough for them to adopt that they could misuse it and do real harm," he told Today presenter Amol Rajan. He added AI systems, in the wrong hands, could be used to develop weapons to create "a bad biological attack from some evil person." "I'm always worried about the 'Osama bin Laden' scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people," he said. Bin Laden orchestrated the 9/11 attacks in 2001, where al-Qaeda terrorists took control of planes to kill thousands of people on American soil. Mr Schmidt proposed a balance between government oversight of AI development and over-regulation of the sector. "The truth is that AI and the future is largely going to be built by private companies," Mr Schmidt said. "It's really important that governments understand what we're doing and keep their eye on us." He added: "We're not arguing that we should unilaterally be able to do these things without oversight, we think it should be regulated." He was speaking from Paris, where the AI Action Summit finished with the US and UK refusing to sign the agreement. US Vice President JD Vance said regulation would "kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off". Mr Schmidt said the result of too much regulation in Europe "is that the AI revolution, which is the most important revolution in my opinion since electricity, is not going to be invented in Europe." He also said the large tech companies "did not understand 15 years ago" the potential that AI had, but does now. "My experience with the tech leaders is that they do have an understanding of the impact they're having, but they might make a different values judgment than the government would make," he said.

Former Google CEO warns AI could be used by 'rogue states' to harm people

Eric Schmidt fears terrorist groups or countries such as North Korea, Iran or Russia may use AI to develop weapons Google's former chief executive has warned that artificial intelligence could be used by "rogue states" such as North Korea, Iran and Russia to "harm innocent people". Eric Schmidt, who held senior posts at Google from 2001 to 2017, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that those countries and terrorists could adopt and misuse the technology to develop weapons to create "a bad biological attack from some evil person". The tech billionaire said: "The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI - I talk about extreme risk. "Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal. This technology is fast enough for them to adopt that they could misuse it and do real harm." In reference to the head of the al-Qaida terrorist group who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks in 2001, he said: "I'm always worried about the Osama bin Laden scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people." Schmidt agreed with the US export controls introduced by the former US president Joe Biden, which restricted the sale of the microchips that power the most advanced AI system to 18 countries to slow adversaries' progress on AI research. He urged government oversight on private tech companies that are developing AI models, but added that over-regulation could stifle innovation. "It's really important that governments understand what we're doing and keep their eye on us," he said. "My experience with the tech leaders is that they do have an understanding of the impact they're having, but they might make a different values judgment than the government would make." Schmidt was speaking from Paris, where the two-day AI Action summit finished on Tuesday with the US and UK refusing to sign an agreement on "inclusive" AI. The declaration was signed by 57 countries, including India and China, the EU and the African Union. The UK declined to back the joint communique because it failed to provide enough "practical clarity" or address "harder questions" about national safety. The US vice-president, JD Vance, has said that regulation would "kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off". Schmidt said Europe's more restricted approach meant "that the AI revolution, which is the most important revolution in my opinion since electricity, is not going to be invented in Europe". Separately, Schmidt, who was head of Google when the company bought Android, which now makes the most-used mobile phone operating system in the world, said he supported initiatives to keep phones out of schools. "The situation with children is particularly disturbing to me," he said. "I think smartphones with a kid can be safe, they just need to be moderated ... we can all agree that children should be protected from the bad of the online world." Schmidt has also supported proposals for a ban on social media for children under 16. He said: "Why would we run such a large, uncontrolled experiment on the most important people in the world, which is the next generation?"