AI Capone, or the criminal masterminds of the future: The imagined possibilities of malevolent artificial intelligence with an emphasis on money laundering

Abstract

In the emerging era of artificial intelligence (AI), it is reasonable to assume that the rapid development and commercialisation of revolutionary AI technologies will ultimately lead to their adoption by criminals and criminal organisations. Criminals have always been notoriously early adopters of new technologies, and AI is no different. In the not-too-distant future, AI will enable criminals to exploit more victims more efficiently, create innovative criminal business models and launder illicit proceeds using highly sophisticated techniques. The frightening scenario in which criminals collaborate with AI as a powerful partner in crime becomes truly dystopian if a multi-skilled AI criminal mastermind reaches higher levels of automation and autonomy and achieves conscious thought. Science fiction has explored the theme of AI at length, beginning as a promising innovation and morphing into a menace to human society. Faced with the rapid rise in AI-assisted crime, it is worth contemplating the possibility that AI criminal masterminds will someday move from science fiction to reality.