Artificial intelligence will transform British life, says Oliver Dowden

Artificial intelligence it will transform almost every area of ​​British life in the coming years and months into a “total revolution”, the deputy prime minister has said.

Oliver Dowden, who is responsible for preparing the country for new and emerging threats, also warned of a growing risk of AI-enabled hacking and terrorism.

In an interview with The Times, Mr. Dowden said: “It is going to completely transform almost every element of life in the next few years and, in fact, even months in some cases.

“It’s much faster than other revolutions we’ve seen and much more extensive, whether it’s the invention of the internal combustion engine or the industrial revolution.”

The Deputy Prime Minister added that AI poses a particular risk on terrorism because it may allow people to conduct extensive hacking operations or create chemical or biological weapons.

He also warned about the risk of “deepfake” images, which are so realistic that many people may believe they are genuine, saying they could be used to influence public opinion and perhaps jeopardize the democratic process.

“In the electoral environment, we have had challenges for the last five or six years in terms of misinformation, disinformation,” he said. “Again, that will accentuate and proliferate that risk, because it’s much easier to create deep fakes with AI.”