Tom Johansmeyer
Fears around AI have begun to change cyber security. The influence of uncertainty and anxiety on security strategy only stands to gain momentum. With the recent release of Chinese AI model DeepSeek, Vatican warnings about ‘the shadow of evil’, and the lack of consensus on appropriate uses for AI in conflict, public concerns will only grow. However, none of these threats are nearly as powerful as the fear associated with them. The premature securitisation of AI could even lead to unnecessary escalation, especially if deterrence is perceived as the preferred strategy, a mistake already made with cyber.
We’ve seen all this before. AI is following a threat perception and escalation path trodden by cyber war, with premature securitisation following fear of the unknown and an extrapolation of threats dislocated from empirically verifiable evidence and experience. As with cyber war, AI isn’t the cyber security threat – hyperbole is. And if we don’t manage AI-related cyber security fears now, they could grow out of control quickly.
Exaggerating the AI threat to cyber security adds another perceived security problem that competes for attention and resources with the real problems that affect people today, including the potential assertiveness of Russia beyond Ukraine, food security, natural disasters, climate change, and disinformation. The best policy intervention now would be to examine the tangible scenarios and attendant effects regarding AI and cyber security, particularly with the cyber war trajectory as a reference point. The relative de-securitisation of AI within cyber security may be exactly what the cyber domain needs.
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