A report by The New York Times, has revealed how Boko Haram terrorists turned to artificial intelligence tools to improve weapons production, including bomb-making, as well as enhance their operational capabilities.
Former insurgents told researchers that the terrorist group relied on multiple artificial intelligence platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek, to obtain information and refine their tactics.
According to the report, “former Boko Haram commanders disclosed to terrorism and technology researcher, Antonia Juelich, of the University of Cambridge, that the group sought assistance from AI platforms, after one of its attacks on a military base was thwarted by a defensive trench.
“The report stated that the insurgents consulted the AI tools for ideas and subsequently learned how motorcycles could be modified to overcome such obstacles”.
Following the guidance, the group’s mechanics reportedly altered motorcycles to improve their speed and acceleration, while fighters practised the manoeuvres ahead of subsequent operations.
One of the former Boko Haram commanders told Juelich that “the idea stemmed from scenes they had watched in movies.
“We saw in a movie how motorcycles can jump over bridges,” the former commander said.
“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 so on.
“And it gave us steps on what we have to do,” the commander added.
Another former commander from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), also described how the group used artificial intelligence tools to obtain detailed responses to operational questions.
“You type in the question or use your voice, and it gives you a detailed answer, like ‘How can I build a bomb?,’ and then it tells you how.
“It is like a human robot! We used it a lot and it works perfectly well,” he said.
According to the report, insurgents viewed artificial intelligence as a means of reducing the risks associated with carrying out experiments.
“Trial-and-error can kill you. AI gives you accuracy,” one member was quoted as saying.
The former insurgent added that the group relied on artificial intelligence to improve the effectiveness of its explosives.
“Before, the bomb explosion was not that big, but then they studied it.
“AI told us what chemicals to put in that made the explosion heavier,” he said.
Reacting to the findings, OpenAI told The New York Times that the actions of the terrorists violated the company’s policies governing the use of its products.
Google and Anthropic also stated that their artificial intelligence models contain safeguards designed to reject dangerous requests and prevent its misuse.
