Exploiting AI for Attacks: On the Interplay between Adversarial AI and Offensive AI

2025-06-14

AI Summary

This paper addresses the dual threat landscape in AI security: AI as a target (adversarial AI) and AI as an instrument of attack (offensive AI), with particular emphasis on their dynamic, co-constitutive relationship. Recognizing the limitation of prior work—which predominantly examines either threat in isolation—the paper formally defines and systematically models their co-evolutionary mechanism, proposing the first unified analytical framework. Methodologically, it integrates security analysis, threat modeling, and AI ethics assessment, employing conceptual decoupling and scenario mapping for cross-paradigm attribution. It further constructs a structured risk taxonomy to clarify emerging patterns of malicious AI exploitation. The contributions include: (1) a theoretically grounded framework for analyzing bidirectional AI threats; (2) a novel methodology bridging technical security and ethical evaluation; and (3) actionable insights enabling a strategic shift in AI security governance—from reactive defense to proactive, balanced deterrence.

Technology Category

• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Privacy & Security
• Humans and AI: Human-AI Collaboration / Human-AI Teaming
• Multiagent Systems: Adversarial Agents

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Security and privacy of machine learning and AI applications
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, it has transitioned from a research-focused discipline to a widely adopted technology, enabling intelligent solutions across various sectors. In security, AI's role in strengthening organizational resilience has been studied for over two decades. While much attention has focused on AI's constructive applications, the increasing maturity and integration of AI have also exposed its darker potentials. This article explores two emerging AI-related threats and the interplay between them: AI as a target of attacks (`Adversarial AI') and AI as a means to launch attacks on any target (`Offensive AI') -- potentially even on another AI. By cutting through the confusion and explaining these threats in plain terms, we introduce the complex and often misunderstood interplay between Adversarial AI and Offensive AI, offering a clear and accessible introduction to the challenges posed by these threats.

Problem

• Exploring AI as target of attacks (Adversarial AI)
• Investigating AI as tool for attacks (Offensive AI)
• Analyzing interplay between Adversarial and Offensive AI

Innovation

• AI as target of attacks
• AI as means to launch attacks
• Interplay between Adversarial and Offensive AI