When would the UK deploy its new nuclear bomb-carrying fighter jets?
• Air defence expert and RUSI fellow Dr Thomas Withington discusses the UK's procurement of F-35A nuclear-carrying fighter jets and what they are capable of.
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Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Putin is weaponising AI to target Brits with disinformation campaign in new digital 'arms race', experts warn
Vladimir Putin 's shadowy cyberspace army is 'weaponising' artificial intelligence to spread disinformation online and confuse Britons into siding with the Kremlin, experts have warned. The new technology is 'already in use' and 'blurring the lines' between fact and fiction, researchers at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) worryingly claimed. Experts from the London-based think-tank say Russia-linked groups - including 'hacktivist collectives' and pro-Kremlin influencers - have already been mobilised. Using so-called 'generative AI', the groups are working to seed disinformation about Russian activity on an industrial scale, using custom-built automated propaganda to 'sow discord' across the West. The tech has already been 'integrated' into Russia's cyber operations and is now 'fuelling an information arms race' while seeking to 'overwhelm' governments in the West, analysts fear. 'Far from being a distant risk, the research shows how AI is already central in Russian disinformation operations for its ability to scale, and personalise disinformation, generate content automatically, and reduce attribution risks,' RUSI said in a report. Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can create new content, such as text, images, audio, or code, based on the data they have been trained on. The technology has exploded in recent years, with some now able to produce near photo-realistic images, that appear convincingly real. Fake images created by AI have included anything from fictional attacks and atrocities, to videos purportedly showing victims caught up in wartime assaults. But AI can also be used to create fake news reports, and rows between 'bots' - automated accounts - on social media built to dupe people into believing a false story. In a 22-page report dubbed 'Russia, AI and the Future of Disinformation Warfare', RUSI warned Kremlin-backed groups were already looking into ways to use AI to 'amplify' content. 'Generative AI is already being integrated into Russian disinformation operations,' RUSI's report said. 'Automated tools generate fake articles, social media posts, images and deepfakes. 'Operations like the "DoppelGänger" campaign, in which AI-generated articles mimicked legitimate Western news outlets, illustrate how these tactics aim to erode trust and sow confusion at scale. 'AI-powered bots and automated social media accounts help amplify disinformation, saturate public discourse and simulate grassroots sentiment – a tactic known as "astroturfing" 'In some cases, fake conversations between bots are staged to simulate debate and mislead third-party observers.' The smart technology is reportedly being used strategically by mercenaries from the Wagner group - a team of guns for hire who have previously been ordered to fight in Ukraine by the Kremlin. The group is allegedly targeting messaging app Telegram, and are using generative AI as a tool to 'undermine trust in Western institutions, sow discord... and frame any Russian cyber activities as defensive responses to perceived Western aggression'. Meanwhile, hackers from the group NoName057(16) have 'openly' discussed using AI to sharpen its malicious cyber attacks, misinformation campaigns, and reputational sabotage. Since its launch in 2022, the cyber cartel has already used such attacks to disrupt the running of a range of Ukrainian, European and American government agencies and media outlets. Experts say Russian chiefs see AI as both an 'opportunity and a threat', and as a 'powerful tool for information manipulation' which the West may have a better grip of. The Kremlin has long prioritised information warfare as a central element of statecraft, viewing it as a theatre of war 'on par with conventional or nuclear warfare', writers of the RUSI report said. Disinformation teams affiliated with Putin are thought to have invested heavily in AI technologies to influence European audiences in the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections. In August, the Mail revealed how a Russian-linked fake news website had fuelled violent protests over the Southport stabbings last year. The misinformation spread like wildfire and within 27 hours, cities across the UK were in flames as rioting erupted. And last year, Russia was accused of generating more AI content to influence the US presidential election than any other foreign power as part of its broader effort to get Donald Trump re-elected, a US intelligence official claimed. But as the tech improves and becomes cheaper, it is lowering the threshold for pro-Russian groups to take advantage, potentially opening the floodgates for a sea of disinformation to flood social media. Russian disinformation campaigns aim to undermine its adversaries by fanning the flames of internal division, eroding trust in democratic institutions, and weakening alliances such as Nato or the EU. 'Although many of these campaigns are under-resourced and disorganised, social media platforms allow for low-cost, large-scale experimentation without significant consequence for failed attempts,' RUSI said. 'Trial and error approaches carry little risk, and the volume of content often matters more than precision.' In a series of recommendations, defence experts at RUSI urged the UK to up its monitoring of Kremlin-linked groups using AI. Britain also needs to 'support civil society resilience against AI threats', by investing in 'digital literacy' campaigns to help Britons identify fake, AI propaganda. And researchers have called for the development of 'AI governance frameworks to prevent abuse'. 'The fusion of AI and influence operations reinforces the need for AI governance frameworks that explicitly address malign use cases … Coordination between governments, platforms, researchers, and journalists must also happen at a larger scale … sharing insights on observed tactics and uses of AI tools,' RUSI said. 'Generative AI is no longer merely a tool – but is an ideological and operational centrepiece reshaping the mechanics, narratives, and strategic cultures of Russian disinformation,' the experts concluded. 'While Russian influence actors prize AI for its ability to scale, anonymise, and personalise propaganda, they also voice deep concern over the Western monopoly on high-performance AI tools and the ideological unreliability of domestic alternatives. 'By highlighting actor-level conversations, recruitment efforts, and operational applications, the report offers a rare window into how Russia's digital influence ecosystem is evolving in real time and how competing narratives - of empowerment and vulnerability - are fuelling an information arms race, where the ability to manipulate perception and shape narratives through technology is becoming just as critical as traditional warfare capabilities. 'The findings underscore the necessity for renewed vigilance in AI governance and disinformation strategy, not only to understand how AI tools are used, but how they are discussed, imagined, and embedded in adversarial worldviews.'
Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Daily Record
Edinburgh council firm boss given £22,343 bonus as locals hit with tax rise
EXCLUSIVE: Marshall Dallas, former CEO at the EICC, has been awarded bonuses of £146,527 in the last three years. A former chief executive at a firm owned by cash-strapped Edinburgh council has been handed a £22,343 bonus. The top up for ex EICC boss Marshall Dallas came as councillors landed local residents with an 8% council tax rise. The EICC, which is ultimately owned by the Labour-run council, operates at arm's length as a conference venue. Dallas announced last year he would be leaving the organisation after a decade in charge. Newly-released accounts show his final remuneration package, covering 2024/25, came to nearly £200,000. His salary alone was £177,022 but this was boosted by a £22,343 bonus. His bonuses over the last three years totalled £146,527, with the high point during the period being a £72,280 payment in 2022/23. The town hall, which has made swingeing cuts in recent years, backed an 8% council tax rise from April to raise £26m. The charge for band D properties now comes to £1,563.51 while for residents in band E homes it is £2,054. Edinburgh council is also facing tough decisions in future years to plug a funding black hole. Green MSP Ross Greer said: 'Business is booming for the EICC because they are willing to host the arms dealers whose weapons are being used to slaughter innocent people from Palestine to Syria to Yemen. 'Last September, this council-owned conference centre hosted the SPIE Security + Defence event, an arms industry conference sponsored by one of the world's biggest arms dealers, Leonardo. 'Green councillors and local campaigners condemned this at the time, given Leonardo's continued sales to human rights abusers around the world. For example, their equipment is used in F-35 fighter jets, the kind being used by Israeli forces to bomb hospitals, schools and tents full of innocent Palestinians ' Marshall Dallas should give his twenty-two grand bonus to Medical Aid for Palestinians or any of the other groups doing astonishing lifesaving work in the midst of a genocide enabled by the arms dealers he hosted.' 'The EICC Board approved a recommendation from our EICC Remuneration Committee to award a discretionary bonus, based on key performance criteria pertaining to the former EICC CEO's Job Description; and to EICC Company Performance in conference centre operations in which our excellent EICC Team delivered record levels of revenue and economic impact for Edinburgh in 2024.' A council spokesperson said: 'Pay awards are decided by the board of EICC. As a council we have debated this issue and strongly urged restraint amongst these companies with regard to bonuses. We will be addressing this issue in forthcoming discussions on the relationship between the council and arms' length companies.'
South Wales Guardian
18 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Human rights group loses challenge over jet part exports amid Gaza conflict
Al-Haq took legal action against the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) over its decision to continue licensing exports of components for F-35 fighter jets, telling a hearing in May that it was unlawful and 'gives rise to a significant risk of facilitating crime'. In September last year, the Government suspended export licences for weapons and military equipment following a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law in the conflict. But an exemption was made for some licences related to parts for F-35s, which are part of an international defence programme. The DBT defended the challenge, with its barristers telling a four-day hearing in London that the carve-out is 'consistent with the rules of international law'. In a 72-page ruling on Monday, Lord Justice Males and Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed the legal challenge. The senior judges said that 'the conduct of international relations' is a matter for the executive, rather than the courts, and that it would be unnecessary to decide whether there was a 'significant risk' that the carve-out could facilitate crimes. They added: 'The grave risk to life in the ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip is not created by the F-35 carve-out, and would not be removed by suspension of the export from the UK of F-35 parts into the F-35 programme.' The High Court was previously told that the decision to 'carve out' licences related to F-35 components followed advice from Defence Secretary John Healey, who said a suspension would impact the 'whole F-35 programme' and have a 'profound impact on international peace and security'. The F-35 programme is an international defence programme which produces and maintains the fighter jets, with the UK contributing components for both assembly lines and an international pool. Israel is not one of the 'partner nations' of the programme, the court heard, but is a customer and can order new F-35 aircraft and draw on a pool for spare parts. The two judges later said they agreed with barristers for the DBT, who said it was not possible for the UK to 'unilaterally' ensure that UK-made parts did not reach Israel. Lord Justice Males and Mrs Justice Steyn said: 'In short, the Secretary of State reasonably concluded that there was no realistic possibility of persuading all other partner nations that F-35 exports to Israel should be suspended.' 'Accordingly he was faced with the blunt choice of accepting the F-35 carve-out or withdrawing from the F-35 Programme and accepting all the defence and diplomatic consequences which would ensue,' they added. The two judges also said the case was about a 'much more focused issue' than the carve-out itself. They continued: 'That issue is whether it is open to the court to rule that the UK must withdraw from a specific multilateral defence collaboration which is reasonably regarded by the responsible ministers as vital to the defence of the UK and to international peace and security, because of the prospect that some UK manufactured components will or may ultimately be supplied to Israel, and may be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law in the conflict in Gaza. 'Under our constitution that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive which is democratically accountable to Parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts.' Following the ruling, Al-Haq director general Shawan Jabarin said the long-running case had caused a 'significant impact'. He continued: 'Despite the outcome of today, this case has centred the voice of the Palestinian people and has rallied significant public support, and it is just the start. 'This is what matters, that we continue on all fronts in our work to defend our collective human values and work towards achieving justice for the Palestinians.' A Government spokesperson said: 'The court has upheld this Government's thorough and lawful decision-making on this matter. 'This shows that the UK operates one of the most robust export control regimes in the world. We will continue to keep our defence export licensing under careful and continual review.'
