The head of Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service will detail why Russia is failing to achieve its military objectives in Ukraine and how artificial intelligence will not replace human agents when he delivers a rare public speech on Wednesday.
Richard Moore, the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service will also talk about a recent wave of “Russian imperialism” in Africa and how other countries such as Iran are fueling further conflict in Ukraine when he makes only his second major speech since taking on his job in 2020.
He will be speaking in Prague because of “the close and productive bilateral relationship between the UK and the Czech Republic and further, the historic context in the aftermath of another Russian invasion in Europe,” his office said.
China and Russia heading the race
In his first public speech, Moore warned that China and Russia were racing to master technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, and this will again be a focus.
Government and intelligence agencies globally are seeking to harness the power of AI, but Moore will say it will complement not replace humans who can uncover secrets beyond technology’s reach.
“The unique characteristics of human agents in the right places will become still more significant,” he will say.
“They are never just passive collectors of information: our agents can be tasked and directed; they can identify new questions we didn’t know to ask; and sometimes they can influence decisions inside a government or terrorist group.
“Human intelligence in the age of artificial intelligence will increasingly be defined as those things that machines cannot do, albeit we should expect the frontier of machine capability to advance with startling speed.”
