Weaponised Empathy: new report on AI scams and the Nigeria–UK response
The Emotional AI Lab has published Weaponised Empathy: AI Scams & the Nigeria–UK Response, by Vian Bakir, Andy McStay and Chiemezie Ugochukwu.
The report is the outcome of a three-month research sprint. It examines how AI is acting as a force multiplier for scams run from Nigeria against victims in the UK and beyond. A particular focus is “empathic” AI: chatbots, voice cloning and deepfakes that can simulate care, sustain emotionally convincing relationships indefinitely, and remove the human tells that once gave scammers away.
It draws on a multi-sector policy workshop in Abuja, with Nigerian regulators, law enforcement, the legal profession and young techpreneurs. It also draws on interviews with UK regulators, Nigerian fintech founders and a tech investor.
The central argument is that AI-enabled scams are not only a cybersecurity problem but a developmental one. Economic precarity drives fraud, and fraud erodes Nigeria’s reputation and investor confidence. That in turn narrows legitimate opportunities for the country’s young, tech-skilled population. The report welcomes the May 2025 UK–Nigeria fraud partnership but argues it needs to go beyond enforcement. It sets out five priorities:
building trust infrastructure for Nigeria’s digital economy
skills pipelines matched to real jobs
extending the UK–Nigeria partnership to cover innovation and platform accountability
pre-emptive investment in deepfake detection and interactive digital literacy
sustained multi-stakeholder coordination
Citation: Bakir, V., McStay, A. & Ugochukwu, C. (2026) Weaponised Empathy: AI Scams and the Nigeria–UK Response. Bangor: Emotional AI Lab, Bangor University.