Criminals, including paedophiles, scammers, hackers, and others, are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to exploit victims in harmful ways, warned Alex Murray, the national police lead for AI. AI technology's rapid expansion is due to its growing accessibility, prompting police to urgently address these threats. Criminals are adapting AI to various crimes, including large-scale frauds using deepfake technology to impersonate executives for financial gains. Such incidents involve significant monetary losses, with a notable case where a finance worker was tricked into transferring HK$200m after a convincing deepfake video call. Murray expressed grave concerns over the use of generative AI by paedophiles to produce child abuse images, highlighting its unlawful nature irrespective of the image's origin. AI facilitates sextortion by manipulating social media photos, while hackers use it to identify software vulnerabilities.

Although currently focused on child abuse imagery and fraud, AI's potential threat spectrum is broad. AI chatbots pose risks, potentially inciting crime and terrorism. Jonathan Hall, the government's terrorism legislation reviewer, researched AI's possible exploitation in terrorism, including chatbot radicalization. He demonstrated how easily an Osama bin Laden chatbot could be made using commercial platforms. With AI technology advancing, misuse by criminals is expected to rise. Murray emphasized the need for a swift policing response to counter these threats effectively. The simplicity, realism, and accessibility of AI tools are predicted to increase, necessitating proactive measures to mitigate crime expansion by 2029.