AI hacks 'early warning shots', Google Deepmind chairman tells Dublin summit

Recent hacking incidents perpetrated by AI agents are "early warning shots", and the world could soon face major incidents if systems are not made more secure, Google DeepMind co-founder and Chair Demis Hassabis has told the International AI Summit at the RDS in Dublin.

Rogue behaviour by AI agents, including corporate network hacks and, most recently, Anthropic's disclosure that an AI model submitted a false homicide tip to police , has prompted warnings from researchers and fueled concerns over the fast-advancing technology.

Mr Hassabis said there was "a lot of work to do" to adopt the kind ‌of best practices that other ⁠fields such as biology or the nuclear sector use to secure critical systems and that some sort of international standards body would eventually be needed.

"I think these (hacking incidents) are early warning shots for us that systems aren't that powerful yet, so the incidents aren't that major," Mr Hassabis, who is also chief scientist at Google parent Alphabet, told the Dublin summit.

"But they could be (major) looking into year and the couple years if we don't do more work as ⁠an industry, as individual companies and governments on securing these systems."

Around 1,500 people were expected to attend the AI summit - one of the largest gatherings of the AI sector and policymakers in Europe this year, with Ireland hosting as part the EU presidency.

The summit is looking at research and innovation in AI, as well as issues around safeguards and security in the sector.

Mr Hassabis said that, while an international standards body seemed like an obvious intervention, it would need to be nuanced and nimble so as not to stifle innovation.

"So what you need to do is basically build up dynamically this kind of certification process that is proportionate with the risks as we see it and can quickly change depending on where the ‌technology goes," he said.

Microsoft President Brad Smith told ‌the conference that rogue AI behaviour had made 2026 a "sobering year" and that new ⁠AI safety ‌laws and rules were urgently needed for safety to catch up with innovation.

"No company or technology should be above the law. But we need law, we need regulation. It needs to be sensible, it needs to be balanced, it needs ⁠to take into account innovations," he said.

"This allergy that some in the industry have to regulation is frankly ⁠something we need to get over."

Ahead of the summit, Ireland's EU Commissioner Michael McGrath said the European Union is "ahead of the curve" in the regulation of AI, but cannot do this alone because artificial intelligence "doesn't respect any borders".

"I think the EU is very well-placed in this area because we are the ones that have a very developed regulatory toolbox now in place," he said.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr McGrath said the EU has the world's first and "most-developed" regulatory and governance "framework" for artificial intelligence thanks to the AI Act.

The Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection said there was a lot of criticism at the time when the act was being developed "a few years ago" that the EU was "putting regulation first".

However, he said it has "proven to be a very wise move," because it "sets out where the guardrails need to be".

Mr McGrath added that it also enables harnessing all of the potential of AI "in a way that respects the need for responsible use of AI" and for the technology to be trusted.

He said if the "trust" of citizens, businesses, and public institutions in AI is lost, "then they will simply stop using AI and we will never realise its full potential".

Meanwhile, Enterprise Ireland has announced the launch of the Startup Ireland AI Accelerator Programme, to be delivered under Startup Ireland's €21 million National Accelerator Programme.

Conor O'Donovan, Head of Startup Ireland at Enterprise Ireland said: "The new Startup Ireland AI Accelerator - the first programme from Startup Ireland - is the first of its kind in Ireland and brings Ireland’s startup and multinational sectors together to provide our most promising AI-native startups with direct access to the world’s leading AI infrastructure providers, tools and investors.

"Our goal is to accelerate the development of AI Irish startups by providing access to the technology, connections and mentorship to help them grow faster and scale internationally from Ireland."

The summit comes as the Government published what it calls a "major report on AI adoption and enablement across Irish enterprise".

The study, prepared by Accenture for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - examines the application of AI in the manufacturing, construction and tourism sectors.

The report found that, while the adoption of AI by Irish enterprises is growing, considerable scope remains to increase both the number of businesses using the technology and the depth of its application.

It notes that this is particularly relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises, which may face challenges relating to skills, awareness, data, cost, technical capacity and access to appropriate expertise.

People Before Profit has said that it - along with activists - would stage a protest outside the summit at the RDS.

The group is critical of the high amounts of electricity and water used by data centres, as well as what it describes as the pressure that the growing AI and tech sector puts on climate targets, and the impact on job creation.

Additional reporting by Aengus Cox