AI Tools Haven't Made Cybercrime Easier for Novices, Study Finds

University of Edinburgh researchers analyzed nearly 98,000 forum posts since ChatGPT's launch. They found low-level cybercriminals grew skeptical of AI tools rather than enthusiastic. Coding assistants help experienced operators, but haven't enabled inexperienced attackers to pull off complex crimes. Criminal groups still need human expertise. The findings suggest adoption barriers exist even in criminal ecosystems—a pattern technology history shows us repeatedly.