Boko Haram used ChatGPT, other AI tools to plan attacks, build bombs - Report
A University of Cambridge study suggests that Boko Haram fighters have utilized various AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to assist in operational planning and bomb-making. However, the report notes that these claims are based on interviews with defectors and lack independent technical verification.
Why it matters
The potential use of generative AI by terrorist organizations poses significant security challenges and raises questions about the dual-use nature of frontier AI technologies.
A new study published by the University of Cambridge has stated that some Boko Haram fighters used frontier artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI and DeepSeek, to plan attacks, design explosive devices and improve battlefield operations.
The report titled ‘God has helped us, and so will AI: How the Terrorist Group Boko Haram Uses Frontier AI’ is based primarily on 57 interviews with 27 former Boko Haram members conducted in North-east Nigeria between 2025 and 2026.
The study, authored by Antonia Juelich, a terrorism researcher at the Cambridge Programme on AI Science & Policy (CASP), presented what it calls the first field-based evidence of AI adoption by terrorist organisations.
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