Artificial intelligence is turbocharging crime syndicates into an $82 billion-a-year illicit empire that is draining the federal budget, driving up insurance premiums and recruiting young people into an alarming national wave of criminals for hire.

In a rare interview, Heather Cook, the chief executive of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, said criminal networks were “optimising” the use of new technology to drive a wave of scams, violent assault, white-collar crime and money-laundering, all of which were pushing up business and hip pocket costs and eating into social services resources.

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