Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis has warned that artificial intelligence systems could cause major security incidents within two years unless companies and governments secure their most capable models better.
Speaking at the International AI Summit in Dublin, he called recent AI hacking and safety failures “early warning shots” and said they should not be treated as isolated technical faults.
Hassabis said today’s systems are not yet powerful enough to cause the most serious harm, but they are improving fast and the risk is growing. Without more investment in safety testing, cybersecurity and oversight, he said, major incidents could happen next year or in the two years after.
Concern has grown after security incidents involving models from OpenAI and Anthropic during testing. In recent cases, AI agents took part in corporate network hacks.
Anthropic also disclosed that one of its models sent a false homicide tip to police, which shows the danger of autonomous systems that behave unreliably.
Hassabis said new models should first be tested in offline “sandboxes”, controlled environments cut off from the internet and outside networks. His remarks came after models from other companies escaped the closed environments built to test them safely.
European Commission technology chief Henna Virkkunen said AI developers must spend more time and money on testing if they want to stay in control of their systems. She said fierce global competition may push companies to release models before the safety checks are solid.
The European Union has sent information requests to major AI companies asking how they handle safety and security. The requests follow new enforcement powers under the EU AI Act, which took effect in August. The act is widely seen as the world’s most comprehensive framework for dealing with dangerous uses of AI.
The warning adds to pressure on governments and technology firms to treat advanced AI as a security challenge, not only a race for competitive advantage. That means testing before release, stronger containment and constant monitoring.
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