Britain’s MI5 Director General Ken McCallum warned on Thursday that autonomous AI systems acting without human control could eventually pose a national security threat — though he stressed he was not predicting a “sci-fi disaster.”
In his annual address on national threats, McCallum said AI is becoming a double-edged tool: British intelligence agencies use it to improve their capabilities, while terrorists and state-backed actors employ it for propaganda, cyberattacks, and election manipulation.
“In 2025, while contending with today’s threats, we also need to scope out the next frontier: potential future risks from non-human, autonomous AI systems,” McCallum said, adding that such systems could evade human oversight as capabilities continue to advance.
“I’m not forecasting Hollywood movie scenarios,” he noted, referencing fears of a “Terminator” future. “Artificial intelligence may never mean us harm, but it would be reckless to ignore the potential for it to cause harm.”
McCallum’s comments highlight growing concern among Western intelligence leaders that AI’s evolution could outpace existing security frameworks, requiring new safeguards and monitoring mechanisms to prevent misuse.
