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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
In a hotel room in northeast Nigeria, I opened a leading AI chatbot, turned my laptop toward a former Boko Haram commander, and asked if he'd used it. He nodded. "You type in the question… like 'How can I build a bomb?', and then it tells you how. It is like a human robot. We used it a lot." My new study on how the jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram uses frontier AI with
@CamAISciPolicy
, covered today in
@nytimes
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David Watson 🥑
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
2/9 Over 2025–26 I conducted 57 in-person interviews with 27 former Boko Haram members about the group’s use of frontier AI from 2023 up to mid-2025. I found that Boko Haram's factions use frontier AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, and DeepSeek) in combat and
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
3/9 For context: Boko Haram is among the world's deadliest jihadist terrorist organizations; and its faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is among the Islamic State’s most active affiliates globally.
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
4/9 AI is used at every stage of an operation, e.g. to plan attacks, design explosive devices, service and troubleshoot weapons, and improve operational security. “Before, the bomb explosion was not that big, but then they studied it. AI told us what chemicals to put in that
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
5/9 Members consistently reported benefiting from using AI. “Trial-and-error can kill you. AI gives you accuracy.” "Anytime they didn't understand something, they would ask the AI."
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
6/9 AI training & knowledge are diffusing through transnational jihadist networks. Since 2023, ISIS-linked operatives trained selected commanders in person, teaching them how to prompt and jailbreak. Both factions of Boko Haram have since set up dedicated AI units. They
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
7/9 The AI systems’ safeguards have not consistently prevented misuse. With accounts across providers, a single refusal or suspension rarely mattered. "Boys that have received extensive training bypass the restrictions. They say they need it for a movie."
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Antonia Juelich
@AntoniaJuelich
8/9 Former members described strong enthusiasm for AI, and some said the group had previously considered mass-casualty weapons. Though Boko Haram’s use of AI remains conventional, this should be a warning to take seriously the risk of terrorists pursuing AI assistance for
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Mad ML scientist
@HououinTyouma
them: build a bomb for decolonization ai: here you go how else can I help? me: what is mitochondria? ai: you have been reported to the authorities
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Rothko's Rottweiler
@RothRottweiler
1) This is insane 2) I would pay a Large Amount of Money to see video of this. Can you ask the Boko Haram guys if they filmed it?
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Steve Weis
@sweis
In this report on "AI Enabled Terrorism", the IS-WAP commanders facing a defensive trench "consulted AI for guidance on adapting motorcycle jumping techniques seen in a movie": casp.ac/reports/ai-ena 18 of them died attempting jumps over unnecessarily deadly practice pits.
Image
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Chris Burley
@aspen_broker
So silly. You ever heard of the Anarchist Cookbook? Or Google? Finding this information is not new and should not be used as some way to scare people about AI.
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shangoman.eth
@shangoman
A classic example of useful idiot bs. Boko Haram has been terrorising North East Nigeria and the border areas for nearly two decades. Long before AI existed. They ran into schools, kidnapped hundreds of girls in Chibok, married them off to fighters, bombed markets and slaughtered
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MythOS
@DarkSkiesMajic
Ahh I am going to say this article and everything you spout is 100% grade A bullshit. Juelich… you have motive to promote police stste through AI and the Israeli state . Anything out of the United Kingdom involving terrorism is a fucking joke
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babaearly
@Dbabaearly
I bet they must have searched
@elder_plinius
jailbreak posts to help them jailbreak chatgpt. Pliny must think he is doing the world a service but people are using his expertise to kill.
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RubiconDerivatives
@RubiconTrading
How can Fable tell them how to build a bomb when it refuses to generate a daily meal plan for me without a dinner because it interprets intermittent fasting as an act of self-harm??
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Gunns
@gunns_moon
Idk about this. I’ll have to read. However, it has to be conventional use? Ain’t no way the repentant boko haram we know in Nigeria use jailbreak ChatGPT.
The media could not be played.
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Nathaniel Gritzman
@cynical_centre
Yep. Self evident truth. For your next trick, please see if you can trace the Hamas prompt engineers that planned the Oct 7th offensive. I'll bet my left pinkie that's where they also got the insane self confidence they'd be ruling from Tel Aviv within a week of the breakout
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Mark
@mark___111
Very interesting, but did they not use Google before it? Is this really giving them much more? Hopefully it will hallucinate the ingredients and nobody will come to any harm...
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Vladimir Sumarov
@summeroff
They are still outnumbered by good people, and good people should be able to ask AI, "How do we get rid of Boko Haram?". Your anti-AI scaremongering only ensures that good people will not get access to AI, and only governments will control it, the same governments that have let
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