British spies are using AI to disrupt Russia's shipments of critical weapons, but the technology will never replace real agents, UK spy chief says

• British spies are using AI to disrupt the supply of weapons to Russia, the UK MI6 chief said.
• Moore said the UK and its allies are racing to "master the ethical and safe use of AI."

British spies are using artificial intelligence to derail critical weapons supply chains to Russia, MI6's chief said, but there are hesitations about the dangers of AI and global intelligence.

In a speech at the British Embassy in Prague on Wednesday, Richard Moore, the chief of the UK's MI6 spy agency who rarely makes public remarks, praised current efforts to hinder Russia's war efforts in Ukraine.

"My teams are now using AI to augment — but not replace — their own judgements about how people might act in various situations," he said, adding, "They are combining their skills with AI and bulk data to identify and disrupt the flow of weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine." Moore didn't elaborate with more specifics.

He also noted that AI's growing influence and ability "to make information infinitely more accessible" will greatly benefit global intelligence, especially as "it's possible that digital tools may come to understand — or rather, to be able to predict — human behavior better than humans can."

But all of this comes with doubts, Moore warned.

Will AI replace spies? "The unique characteristics of human agents in the right places will become still more significant," he said. "However swift and all-encompassing the advance of AI, some relationships are going to stay uniquely, stubbornly human."

And as enemies and potential threats to the UK — such as China — develop their own AI technology, the "race to master the ethical and safe use of AI" is on, according to Moore — a race the UK and its allies are determined to win.