Artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT could crack Nazi Germany’s infamous Enigma code in mere minutes — a task that once required global collaboration among experts during World War II. The Enigma cipher was extensively used by Nazi Germany prior to and throughout the war, serving as a critical method for obscuring military commands and strategies from Allied forces.
Powered by an electromechanical device, Enigma scrambled letters using a trio of rotors, producing a continuously shifting cipher. Pressing a key on the machine illuminated a different, randomized letter each time, even if the same key was pressed repeatedly.
Cracking the code
In 1932, Polish mathematicians first managed to decode an early version of Enigma with a device known as the “bombe.” Germany swiftly improved security by updating the encryption keys daily.
Initially considered practically unbreakable, the Enigma code finally yielded when a team of mathematicians and engineers, notably Alan Turing, developed effective decoding techniques. This significant advancement provided the Allies critical insights into Nazi operations, notably submarine locations, which historians credit with shortening the war and influencing its outcome.
Some experts even describe the cracking of Enigma as one of the Allies’ most significant achievements, potentially altering the trajectory of World War II.
Today’s AI overpowers Enigma
However, the formidable Enigma code would quickly collapse under the power of modern AI technology. Michael Wooldridge, a professor of computer science and an AI specialist at Oxford University, told The Guardian that Enigma wouldn’t stand a chance against contemporary computing capabilities.
Modern AI systems like ChatGPT could effortlessly replicate the logic of the historic bombe device, swiftly decrypting Enigma’s messages, Wooldridge explained.
“Enigma would not remotely be a match for these,” he said.
Mustafa A Mustafa, a senior lecturer in software security at the University of Manchester, emphasized that, although trivial by today’s technological standards, cracking the Enigma code was an extraordinary accomplishment in its historical setting.
“It took months — more than a year — for them to do it back then,” Mustafa said. “Completing such a complex decryption during the war itself was an immense achievement.”
Find more insights on the history of Enigma and the crucial contributions of the women who deciphered Hitler’s codes. This article is based on reporting by Kara Sherrer.
