Artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity but not in the way many expect. While defenders are using AI to accelerate detection, triage, and threat hunting, adversaries are leveraging the same tools to scale reconnaissance, automate exploit development, and dramatically increase the speed of attack.

In this episode of Exploited: The Cyber Truth, host Paul Ducklin is joined by RunSafe Security CEO Joe Saunders and Joe Slowik, Director of Cybersecurity Alerting Strategy at Dataminr, to discuss one critical question: Does AI actually reduce vulnerability risk or just accelerate the conflict?

With a background including MITRE ATT&CK, Dragos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and U.S. government offensive operations, Slowik offers a dual-lens perspective on how AI is reshaping both sides of cybersecurity.

Together, they explore:

• How AI is increasing the velocity of vulnerability discovery and exploitation
• Why attackers may benefit from “good enough” AI outputs, while defenders require precision
• The rise in CVEs and why more vulnerabilities doesn’t necessarily mean worse security
• The growing risk in OT, IoT, and unmanaged edge devices
• Why AI is a powerful tool—not a magic bullet—and what that means for defenders

From enterprise security teams to critical infrastructure operators, this episode breaks down what security leaders must understand to stay ahead in an AI-accelerated threat landscape.