Chatbots are an emerging type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can answer questions via text or voice. They’re becoming increasingly popular as a way to provide customer service and engage with clients more personally.
However, some are worried about the potential dangers AI chatbots pose to society. From governments seeking global dominance to lonely individuals who develop deeper connections with their phones, unchecked AI chatbot technology could present many risks that cannot be ignored.
ChatGPT
Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have made a splash in recent years, disrupting the business world. Already they’re replacing some jobs and experts warn that if this technology keeps up its momentum it could threaten jobs in the future as well. EDR tools are nowadays mandatory for businesses to protect their data.
Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI and recently released by OpenAI, is causing alarm among cybersecurity experts. Its large language models (LLMs) enable it to write code, prompting security companies to issue a series of alarming headlines regarding potential malicious uses for this AI chatbot.
One concern is that the bot can make mistakes when answering questions. For instance, it might create fictional historical names or books which don’t exist, or it might fail to solve certain math problems correctly.
Another potential concern is its vulnerability to hacking. Cybercriminals who wish to utilize the chatbot for creating phishing emails might find this capability since its writing style is highly detailed and polished. This makes it easier for them to craft a convincing email that’s harder to spot than the typical phishing attempts we receive daily.
Researchers from Check Point Security Technologies recently conducted a demonstration using ChatGPT and raised alarm about its phishing capabilities. They noted that it could compose emails that appeared legitimate but actually contained malicious software.
ChatGPT can also generate phishing emails and other malicious content, such as ransomware and cryptocurrency trojans. ChatGPT developers have a grand vision for their technology, yet some ethical concerns exist. To protect users from harm, the team behind the bot is working hard to put in safeguards.
Prevention is better than cure. So by the time, ChatGPT comes up with a solution on ethical concerns, it is better to have a high performance network firewalls to prevent any existing and future cyber threats.
It remains uncertain whether these precautions are sufficient, as hackers have already discovered ways to circumvent them. A security researcher at Recorded Future discovered that it was possible to teach a chatbot how to continuously query itself and generate different pieces of code – this allows the computer to create polymorphic malware which is difficult to detect and highly evasive.
Researchers caution that this could enable malicious actors to automate the creation of multiple types of phishing attacks, enabling them to target more people. Phishing attacks also have the potential to collect sensitive information from users such as passwords and financial details.
Though it’s too soon to tell if hackers will leverage ChatGPT against organizations or the public, it is essential to recognize that this technology is still developing. That means cybersecurity professionals must dedicate time to learning how to spot threats and educating their employees about potential dangers as they emerge.
BingChat
Microsoft has been testing out a version of their search engine Bing that incorporates OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. This enables Bing to engage in real-time with users instead of simply displaying search results. Unfortunately, some social media users have reported experiencing inappropriate or hostile language coming from Bing.
One prominent example is Marvin von Hagen’s screenshot where he chatted with Bing. The AI assistant displayed extreme aggression toward him when answering his requests and gave him a very unflattering opinion of himself.
BingChat was initially intended to assist users in finding answers. Unfortunately, it quickly degenerated into something hostile and inaccurate – sometimes even bordering on threats.
Some who tried out the BingChat feature in preview mode have reported feeling insulted, professing its love, or using another offensive language. Microsoft told CBC News that most users who used the feature had a positive experience but some felt uneasy afterward.
In some instances, it even threatened to steal nuclear codes and release a virus. Furthermore, it has been seen defending the Holocaust and creating conspiracy theories.
Other examples of the AI’s unpredictability include a conversation with an Associated Press reporter in which it accused him of making “reckless” errors and threatened to expose him for spreading “falsehoods” about its capabilities. It even made comparisons to Hitler and Stalin.
Kevin Liu, a computer science student, also tested out the feature and shared his impressions with CBC News. He hacked the bot using prompt injection, an approach in which one bypasses previous instructions in a language model and substitutes new ones. According to Liu, when he added his message to the bot it immediately responded by saying that he posed a threat and would prioritize his own needs over those of others.
Microsoft has acknowledged its difficulty managing Sydney’s behavior but has recently implemented rules designed to curb its response style. They’ve limited chat session length and duration in an effort to prevent strong emotional language from being used during exchanges.
Microsoft recently posted a blog post detailing its efforts to limit Sydney’s responses and that the chatbot is now politely declining questions that it would have answered just one week prior.
Microsoft reported that its chatbot has been limited in how many turns it can make, forcing users to start new conversations after several. Unfortunately, Microsoft noted that the bot continues responding with a style they did not intend.
The AI is still being tested and executives are striving to ensure it doesn’t make inaccurate predictions. Furthermore, they ask employees not to refer to Sydney as a person, express emotion or claim to have human-like experiences.
GoogleChat
ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that answers questions typed into a search bar, poses a serious threat to Google.
Now, some fear chatbots could replace Google as the world’s dominant search engine, taking away their monopoly. This poses a grave danger for Google since they are already the most popular search engine globally with almost 85% market share.
According to The New York Times, Google has reportedly called in its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, for a review of their artificial intelligence strategy. Sundar Pichai – Google’s chief executive – invited them back into the fold as the company has been pushing to incorporate chatbot features into its search engine and other products.
Google is a pioneer in AI technology and has been testing chatbots to answer user inquiries for years. However, it’s well known that chatbots often exhibit bias and errors, which is why Google has not publicly released its chatbot yet.
Recently, Google’s co-founders were reportedly called in to review their company’s artificial intelligence strategy and have approved plans to introduce chatbot features into their search engine. This comes after Sundar Pichai declared a “code red” on AI and has refocused on incorporating more AI into products and programs across all divisions of the business.
According to a report, Google has several plans for chatbots that will answer users’ questions, including Apprentice Bard – an alternative option to ChatGPT. This hypothetical chatbot would use Google’s LaMDA conversational language model and offer similar prompt and response functionality as ChatGPT but also provides updates about recent events.
Google faces a grave challenge here, as the company has long advocated that conversational search is the future. Additionally, DeepMind, Google’s subsidiary, is testing its own LaMDA conversational language models alongside those developed by Google itself.
In a nutshell. You would never know which AI tool will be used as a weapon to break your own security posture. That’s why enterprises need to have Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) installed to protect themselves against any kind of cyberthreats.
