The head of Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service invited discontented Russians to join their British colleagues in spying for the UK. Sir Richard Moore, known as “C,” appealed in a rare public speech during an event at the British Embassy in Prague on Wednesday. He used the opportunity to argue that Putin was losing his grip on Ukraine and urged disgruntled Russians to use their talents to help end the bloodshed.
In the address, he noted that “disaffected” Russians can use their skills and connections to serve the cause of democracy in their country. “I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months and join hands with us,” he said. “Our door is always open. We will handle their offers of help with the discretion and professionalism for which my service is famed.”
The chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) did not mention names. Still, he seemed to be targeting disgruntled Russian intelligence officers, military officials, and diplomats who might make valuable assets for the UK. He likened the situation to the Prague Spring of 1968, when Soviet authorities quashed liberalizing reforms. He said that fissures are appearing in the inner circle of Vladimir Putin and that he has little chance of regaining momentum in Ukraine.
In his remarks, he also addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on the work of human spies. He warned intelligence agencies must be wary of falling behind rivals pouring money and ambition into AI technologies. But he stressed that AI can help, not replace, human intelligence gathering and analysis.
“We must not let our fear of AI blind us to the enormous potential of this technology, which can augment, but never replace, our human skills,” he said. “We are using it to identify and disrupt the flow of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.”
Few details about the work of GCHQ, as the UK’s spy agency is known, are made public, though Judi Dench famously portrayed the role of M in GoldenEye alongside Pierce Brosnan’s Bond. Despite its secrecy, the agency is well-known for several internal social events and clubs, including a sailing club, cake sales, regular pub quiz nights, and an internal puzzle newsletter called Kryptos.
