The head of MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, said on Wednesday that last month’s uprising by Russian mercenaries showed the existence of “deep divisions” around the Kremlin and invited Russians frightened by the war in Ukraine to come and spy for Britain, admitting on the other hand that artificial intelligence cannot replace the work of spies, reports the international press quoted by News.ro.

In only his second public speech since becoming head of MI6 in 2020, Richard Moore said there was little chance of Russia resuming its strike power in Ukraine.

Public talk about espionage is news to British intelligence agencies. The government in London refused to even acknowledge the existence of MI6 until 1992, and public appearances by its leaders are rare. Moore’s only other public speech since becoming head of MI6 was almost three years ago.

Speaking now at the British Embassy in Prague, Richard Moore, whose official pseudonym is “C”, compared the situation in Ukraine to the Prague Spring of 1968, when Soviet tanks rolled back liberalizing reforms. “As they witness the venality, infighting and sheer incompetence of their leaders, many Russians are grappling with the same dilemmas as their predecessors in 1968,” he said. “I invite them to do what others have done over the past 18 months and join us. Our doors are always open. Their secrets will be safe with us and we will work together to stop the bloodshed,” urged Richard Moore, according to Reuters.

Leader Wagner is “floating” and Putin is under internal pressure

In his speech, as well as in a subsequent interview, Richard Moore said that the armed uprising of Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin last month revealed the “inexorable disintegration” of Putin’s “unstable autocracy.”

“If you look at Putin’s behavior that day, Prigozhin started out as a traitor at breakfast, was forgiven at dinner, and two days later was invited to tea. There are some things that even the head of MI6 finds difficult to fathom and interpret,” Moore said. “I don’t think you need all the resources of MI6 to conclude that there are deep divisions in the Russian elite around Putin,” he added.

Vladimir Putin had no choice but to negotiate with Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to end the rebellion last month, the head of Britain’s MI6 told CNN. “He didn’t even fight against Prigozhin, he made a deal to save his skin, using the good services of the leader of Belarus. So I don’t see what’s on Putin’s mind either,” said Richard Moore.

The head of MI6 believes that Chief Wagner Prigozhin is alive and at large. Wagner’s leader is “floating,” Moore said. But Putin is clearly under internal pressure, added the head of British intelligence

“A group of mercenaries advancing along the highway to Moscow and reaching 125 kilometers from Moscow cannot exist if you do not realize that this is going to happen. That’s why he probably feels some pressure,” Moore commented on Putin.

Moore also issued a warning to African nations linked to Wagner’s private mercenary army, saying that if its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin could betray his “friend” Vladimir Putin, he would have no problem betraying them.

“The truth is that Russia is not interested in peace or stability in African countries,” he said, adding that Moscow “needs active, complex and weak states that the Kremlin sees as targets for control and exploitation in a new form of Russian imperialism”. “.

“Most conflicts end with some kind of negotiations”

The head of foreign intelligence of Great Britain expressed optimism about Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Richard Moore noted that Ukraine “regained more territory in a month than the Russians managed to gain in a year,” and “there appears little chance that Russian forces will regain momentum.”

Kyiv should “determine” the end of the war because “most conflicts end with some kind of negotiations,” he added in his speech in Prague on Wednesday.

Richard Moore, Director of MI6 (Photo: PA Images / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia)

Artificial intelligence cannot replace spies

Richard Moore also spoke about the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI). His teams use artificial intelligence to speed up their work, including cutting off the flow of weapons to Russia, but the head of MI6 warns that authoritarian regimes are using artificial intelligence to spread fake news and disinformation. “I expect that we will increasingly be faced with the challenge of obtaining evidence of how hostile states are using artificial intelligence in harmful, reckless and unethical ways,” he admitted.

Artificial intelligence will change the world of espionage, but it will not replace the need for human spies, according to Richard Moore.

The head of MI6 says “some” doubt whether artificial intelligence will “disrupt the intelligence services” but he believes the “human factor” will remain crucial. “In fact, it’s probably the opposite,” he added.

While AI can sift through vast amounts of open data, there is still valuable information and secrets that can remain hidden, beyond the understanding of AI algorithms, that only human spies can capture and decipher, Moore believes.

The head of MI6, who has previously warned that the West is falling behind its rivals in the AI ​​race, said some of the “unique characteristics of human agents in the right places will become even more significant” and pointed in context to the ability of spies to “influence decisions inside a government or a terrorist group,” Euronews reports.

“My teams are now using artificial intelligence to augment – ​​but not replace – their own judgments about how people might act in different situations. They combine their skills with artificial intelligence and data to identify and prevent the flow of weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine,” he noted.

In the future, technology may predict human behavior better than humans, he added, “but there will always be an extraordinary bond that allows one person to truly trust another, united by a sense of shared humanity and purpose,” Moore added. is highlighted.

Most of the resources are devoted to China

Despite its focus on Russia, Moore says his service has allocated more resources to China than any other country. Russia is “not the only important strategic goal” of his service. “We are now devoting more resources to China than anyone else, reflecting China’s growing global importance,” Moore testified.

“So let me say clearly and with conviction: my service, along with our allies, intends to win the race to master the ethical and safe use of artificial intelligence,” he said, adding that other countries such as China have “inherent advantages.”

“China is benefiting greatly. AI in its current form requires enormous amounts of data. The more data you have, the faster you can train machine learning tools. China has added its vast troves of data at home to others abroad. And the Chinese authorities are not very concerned about issues related to personal privacy or the security of individual data. They are focused on controlling information and preventing inconvenient truths from being revealed,” Moore said.

Western governments are increasingly reviewing their ties to Chinese technology. Earlier this year, the governments of the US, UK, Canada, Europe and other countries banned the use of the Chinese app TikTok on the phones of government officials. Many of the same countries have also imposed restrictions on the use of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s 5G telecommunications equipment in previous years.

The interventions were prompted by warnings from security and intelligence agencies that the Chinese government could require Chinese technology firms to carry out espionage, sabotage and economic coercion on its behalf.

“Governments have an obligation to protect data generated by their citizens and national projects, whether it’s health care or infrastructure,” Richard Moore told POLITICO. “If you hand over your data to another state, you risk falling into a data trap that will weaken your sovereignty and leave you vulnerable,” he warned.

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