The head of Signal Foundation has dismissed warnings about artificial intelligence turning against humanity as “ghost stories” while arguing that the real danger lies in deploying the technology without proper safeguards, according to BBC Global Women.
Meredith Whittaker, who runs the encrypted messaging app Signal, cited a report by CNN describing an incident in which a chatbot used by US intelligence allegedly fabricated information about a Chinese vessel carrying nuclear material. The false intelligence reportedly prompted the United States to prepare a military response.
“We almost went to war with China,” Whittaker told the BBC. “A system that produces faulty intelligence and almost gets us into a war with China should not be considered super-intelligent by any standards.”
The Signal Foundation chief, named by Time magazine as one of the most powerful people in AI, joined Google in 2006 as an entry-level temporary employee without a computer science degree. She first gained prominence in late 2017 after learning about Project Maven, a secret Google contract with the US Department of Defense to develop AI for drone targeting.
Government pressure on encryption
Whittaker helped organise a 2018 walkout involving some 20,000 staff who protested against what they viewed as rushed technology introduction and other issues. Google subsequently dropped the contract, which was picked up by Palantir.
She drew a connection between Project Maven and a US missile attack on a school in Iran this year, which she said relied on the system and outdated intelligence. Palantir responded to the BBC stating there was “no evidence that Palantir’s software was at fault in this terrible tragedy” and that “there’s always a human in the loop, so there is always a human that makes the ultimate decision”.
Signal, which has an estimated 40 to 70 million users compared to WhatsApp’s billions, is renowned for protecting user privacy by hiding who is sending messages from its own servers. The app is fully or partially blocked in Russia, China and Iran.
At London Tech Week 2026, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said technology companies would be expected to detect and block inappropriate images on children’s devices or face legislation. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology confirmed to the BBC it is preparing such legislation.
Threat to leave UK market
Asked whether Signal would exit any country that forced it to weaken encryption, Whittaker gave an unequivocal answer. “Yes! My God, I have a backbone,” she said, adding that the app would leave rather than expose people “who rely on us, sometimes in the context of life or death, to surveillance that could be weaponised against them”.
She dismissed the government’s approach as “an unprecedented regime of communication and information controls”, arguing that children would circumvent any such measures.
Rani Govender, Head of Child Safety Online at the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, told the BBC the organisation hears from children groomed and moved to end-to-end encrypted platforms where they are coerced into creating abuse material. “Tech companies are responsible for the design choices they make, and they cannot ignore the risks those choices can create for children,” Govender said.
However, Signal has backing from some women’s groups, particularly those in the Global South. Hera Hussain, founder of gender abuse charity Chayn, which operates throughout South Asia, described the app as “a tool for survival” in a time of state surveillance and cyber-attacks.
Whittaker pointed to a US case in which a woman was jailed after Meta handed over messages showing she helped her daughter access abortion in a state where it had been criminalised. Private communication, she argued, protects people from multiple harms including “an abusive spouse, a misogynist law enforcement officer with access to a database, or an authoritarian government that doesn’t think women should get educated”.
What this means for Poles in the UK
If the UK government proceeds with legislation requiring messaging apps to weaken encryption or implement content scanning, Signal has pledged to withdraw from the British market entirely. This would affect Polish residents who rely on the app for secure communication, whether for personal privacy, contacting family in Poland, or professional purposes.
Users should monitor announcements from both Signal and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology regarding the proposed legislation. Those who depend on encrypted messaging for sensitive communications may need to consider contingency plans if Signal exits the UK market. The broader debate about encryption affects all messaging platforms, so changes could eventually impact other services used by the Polish community to stay in touch with relatives abroad or conduct private business.
