Great Britain was in a grey war with Russia and Putin could not be allowed to win, Chichester Probus Club was told at its monthly lunch meeting at Crouchers (July17).

The speaker was Prof Peter Varnish, founder and chief executive of Geopolitical Solutions specialising in defence and security. After four decades in government, he now advises governments on the latest threats and resilience. His subject was AI, friend or foe.

He told members that Putin wanted to rebuild the USSR and, in response to Britain’s support of the Ukraine, we were the target of several cyber-attacks on the UK’s national infrastructure.

Prof Varnish said Artificial Intelligence (AI), when computers could carry out the role of humans, had changed the face of warfare.

The walkie-talkies which blew up in Gaza were planted ten years ago and Mossad waited until they decided to activate them.

The successful drone attack on parked Russian aircraft was all done via satellite. Now drones the size of humming birds could come down in a swarm. Our Government was advised to have a Chinese car stripped down and three bugs and a kill switch was discovered.

AI technology was not new, he said. It originated with Alan Turing and the German Enigma at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Dr Turing wrote the definitive paper in May 1950 where he described the Imitation game and how computers could outwit man.

The Exocet missile Argentina used in the Falklands War was programmed to look for a target, drop to a prescribed level and fire.

AI was here to stay while the power and internet were on.

Domestically, we might have a remote key for the car, a lawnmower that guided itself, a doorbell with facial recognition, CCTV around the house, Alexa or Waze sat nav.

Driverless cars were in the pipeline, fake videos were rife, and supermarkets could tell you what you needed to order.

Chatbots, short for speaking robots, used data from the past and could not predict. Listings had the power of persuasion, particularly with youngsters who seemed to have lost the power for thought.

Every single thing was recorded forever. As Kissinger said, ‘AI will profoundly change our lives.’ He was right, said Prof Varnish. And on September 7 at 3pm, every mobile phone in the country will ring, even if switched off, in a test relay of a warning siren.

The club is open to new members who have, or have had, a career in business or government in their own right. More details at https://chichesterprobus.club