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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Lizzie Dearden

AI increasingly used for sextortion, scams and child abuse, says senior UK police chief

Man holds a smartphone showing an avatar of a woman in a tunic and trousers with a choice of five customisable faces underneath her
Fears about apparently benign chatbots grew because the man who tried to attack the queen with a crossbow in 2021 was influenced by an ‘AI friend’. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

Paedophiles, scammers, hackers and criminals of all kinds are increasingly exploiting artificial intelligence (AI) to target victims in new and harmful ways, a senior police chief has warned.

Alex Murray, the national police lead for AI, said that the use of the technology was growing rapidly because of its increasing accessibility and that police had to “move fast” to keep on top of the threat.

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