Beware Russia’s AI tools: Kyiv

Russian spies have developed an artificial intelligence tool that Moscow is using to meddle in elections in Britain and the United States on a scale “exponentially greater” than ever before, Ukraine’s national security adviser has warned.

Oleksiy Danilov said AI had enabled Russia to ramp up its disinformation campaigns, designed to sow division and influence public opinion, and that Moscow now had specific units dedicated to every country holding an election in Europe.

“Artificial intelligence is a huge step forward for Russia and it makes the impact [of their meddling] exponentially greater.”

Just under half of the world’s population will go to the polls for national elections in 2024, more than in any previous year.

The result of America’s presidential election in November could have significant consequences for Ukraine’s war effort, with Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, having expressed scepticism about military funding for Kyiv and described President Valdimir Putin’s invasion as “genius”and “savvy”.

Moscow had previously relied on armies of workers manually spreading online disinformation from a so-called “troll factory” in St Petersburg on social media platforms such as Telegram, Twitter and Facebook.

Now just “two or three” agents could create “tens of thousands” of authentic-seeming fake accounts, Danilov said, adding: “AI is a huge step forward for Russia.”

Russia’s ability to interfere in the affairs of foreign countries and conduct operations was thought to have been stymied by expulsions of Russian spies from embassies around the world. Europe alone has expelled more than 400 suspected Russian intelligence officers since the fullscale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

But the murder of Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian defector, who was killed in Spain this month, was a stark reminder of its continued ability to carry out lethal operations on foreign soil.

So extensive is Moscow’s network of informants and agents that it is impossible to eradicate Russian interference, Danilov said. “Students, wives, tourists – all of them are used by Russia to do their bidding abroad.”

The FSB, Russia’s security service, was also issuing contracts to European criminal gangs, a relationship that had been made easier by the advent of cryptocurrencies, he said. “It was the modus operandi of the KGB, and it is the case again today ... The country is run on criminality.”

With opposition to Ukraine funding growing, US officials believe Moscow is likely to try to interfere with a heavy hand in 2024. Thirteen Russians – including Yevgeny Prigozhin, the deceased Wagner Group chief – were criminally charged for interfering in the 2016 US election to help Trump to win the presidency.

Danilov said Russian agents were now spreading 166 million disinformation posts online every week. Of those, 36 million last week were aimed at discrediting senior Ukrainian officials; 23.5 million at dividing political and military unity; and 51 million at demoralising the army.

He cited western media outlets quoting false Ukrainian casualty figures which originated on Russian Telegram channels, as examples of the disinformation campaign.

Danilov was speaking after French President Emmanuel Macron said there was now a consensus on the continent that Russia would seek to attack other countries in coming years. – The Times

“Artificial intelligence is a huge step forward for Russia and it makes the impact [of their meddling] exponentially greater.”

Oleksiy Danilov