Page 172 - Cyber Terrorism and Extremism as Threat to Critical Infrastructure Protection

SECTION II: CYBER TERRORISM AND SECURITY IMPLICATION FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION

2 Artificial Versus Human Intelligence in the Energy
Sector – Critical Infrastructure

2.1 Energy and Society

Economists such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx and Max Weber argued that the development of
the nation state is, by definition, a place of conflict. For Weber, the Protestant Reformation
in Western Europe produced a vigorous new type of person, whose focus was on work and
prosperity – the driving force for the development of Capitalism. Smith and Marx argued that,
within this capitalist system, power struggles develop between different classes of people, for
example owners of capital and the proletariat; men and women; different races. Figurational
sociology developed from these conflict theories. Figurational theorists view society as a
whole, as a single playing field of power struggles that can never become fully legitimated or
resolved (Dunning, 1999). Security is, therefore, important to the formation and welfare of the
nation state, which becomes increasingly complicated as the forces of globalisation increase
(Caleta, 2011). The significance of these arguments will be developed later.

Klaus Schwab (2017) argues that we are in the middle of a fourth Industrial Revolution (IR) that
is changing the way we are living, working and relating to one another. While the exact number
of Industrial Revolutions might be debated, the rapid technological and social innovations that
have occurred since the development of the micro-chip have also been accompanied by rapid
social upheaval and commensurate increases in threat (Caleta, 2011). Largely due to these
technological innovations, modern societies are energy societies, incapable of functioning
without access to ever-increasing demands for energy (Groselj, 2011). Furthermore, energy
production and supply is, itself, becoming an increasingly complicated issue, thanks to the
forces of globalisation (Groselj, 2011) and environmentalism.

Given the central importance of the energy sector to the functioning of modern society,
prioritising the protection of that critical infrastructure seems logical. The nuclear industry,
in particular, is an interesting case, due to its positive influence with regard to environmental
issues (clean energy) and its potential (both real and imagined) for catastrophic impacts if
something goes wrong (e.g. Chernobyl and Fukushima). Vrsec (2011) argues that humans
(staff) are an important threat within the energy sector that should be included in any threat
matrix. This is not simply due to any potential deliberate terrorist act, but also from the
potential accidental consequences resulting from human error. The identification of various
types of threat among staff in the nuclear industry will be used as exemplars in this paper.

2.2 Artificial Intelligence

True Artificial Intelligence does not (yet) exist. The fundamental problem is there is no single,
2
clear definition of intelligence ! Whether in humans, animals or machines, the very concept of
intelligence is the subject of much debate. Identifying and measuring it is, therefore, fraught
with problems. For some, Artificial Intelligence is simply a branch of computer science that
allows computers to make predictions and decisions to solve problems (AI for All, 2020).

2 See https://www.britannica.com/science/human-intelligence-psychology for an explanation of the 4 main
theories of intelligence.

172