Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province, have reportedly exploited artificial intelligence tools to improve bomb-making techniques, refine battlefield strategies and strengthen operational planning, according to a report by The New York Times.
The report, which cited interviews conducted by terrorism and technology researcher Antonia Juelich of the University of Cambridge, revealed that former commanders of the insurgent groups admitted using multiple AI-powered chatbots, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek, to obtain technical guidance.
According to the report, one of the former Boko Haram commanders recounted how the group turned to AI after a planned assault on a military base was thwarted by a defensive trench.
The commander said the insurgents queried AI platforms on how to modify motorcycles to overcome such obstacles after seeing similar stunts in movies.
“We saw in a movie how motorcycles can jump over bridges. We used AI to learn how to do this. We gave it information, like what motorcycles we use and the distance we need to jump, and it gave us steps on what we had to do,” the former commander was quoted as saying.
The report said the group’s mechanics subsequently altered motorcycles to improve their speed and acceleration, while fighters practised the manoeuvres before carrying out operations.
The findings also indicated that AI tools were used to obtain information on explosive devices.
A former ISWAP commander reportedly told the researcher that the chatbots provided detailed responses to questions on bomb construction and other technical issues.
“You type in the question or use your voice, and it gives you a detailed answer, like, ‘How can I build a bomb?’ It is like a human robot. We used it a lot,” the former commander was quoted as saying.
Another ex-insurgent reportedly said AI reduced the risks associated with trial-and-error methods.
“Trial-and-error can kill you. AI gives you accuracy,” the source reportedly said, adding that the technology also suggested combinations of chemicals capable of producing more powerful explosions.
The report further revealed that although major AI companies have built safeguards into their systems to block requests for harmful or illegal content, the former insurgents claimed they frequently bypassed those restrictions by disguising their prompts as legitimate academic or engineering projects.
Reacting to the findings, OpenAI said such activities violated its usage policies.
Google and Anthropic also maintained that their AI models contain safeguards designed to reject dangerous requests.
However, the report raised fresh concerns over the growing misuse of generative artificial intelligence by violent extremist groups, highlighting the challenge technology firms and governments face in preventing sophisticated digital tools from being weaponised by terrorists.
The development comes amid increasing global concerns over the dual-use nature of AI technology, with security experts warning that extremist groups are increasingly exploring emerging technologies to enhance recruitment, propaganda and operational capabilities.
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