As the rest of the world rushes to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI), militant groups are also experimenting with the technology, even if they are unsure exactly what to do with it.<\/p>\n
For extremist organisations, AI could be a powerful tool for recruiting new members, churning out realistic deepfake images and refining their cyberattacks, national security experts and spy agencies have warned.<\/p>\n
Someone posting on a pro-Islamic State group website last month urged other IS supporters to make AI part of their operations. \u201cOne of the best things about AI is how easy it is to use,\u201d the user wrote in English.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome intelligence agencies worry that AI will contribute [to] recruiting,\u201d the user continued. \u201cSo make their nightmares into reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
IS, which had seized territory in Iraq and Syria years ago but is now a decentralised alliance of militant groups that share a violent ideology, realised years ago that social media could be a potent tool for recruitment and disinformation, so it’s not surprising that the group is testing out AI, national security experts say.<\/p>\n
For loose-knit, poorly resourced extremist groups \u2014 or even an individual bad actor with a web connection \u2014 AI can be used to pump out propaganda or deepfakes at scale, widening their reach and expanding their influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor any adversary, AI really makes it much easier to do things,\u201d said John Laliberte, a former vulnerability researcher at the National Security Agency who is now CEO of cybersecurity firm ClearVector.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith AI, even a small group that doesn’t have a lot of money is still able to make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
How extremist groups are experimenting<\/p>\n
Militant groups began using AI as soon as programs like ChatGPT became widely accessible. In the years since, they have increasingly used generative AI programs to create realistic-looking photos and videos.<\/p>\n
When manipulated by social media algorithms, this fake content can help recruit new believers, confuse or frighten adversaries, and spread propaganda on a scale unimaginable just a few years ago.<\/p>\n
Such groups spread fake images two years ago of the Israel-Hamas war, depicting bloodied, abandoned babies in bombed-out buildings. The images spurred outrage and polarisation while obscuring the war’s actual horrors. Violent groups in the Middle East used the photos to recruit new members, as did antisemitic hate groups in the U.S. and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Something similar happened last year after an attack claimed by an IS affiliate killed nearly 140 people at a concert venue in Russia. In the days after the shooting, AI-crafted propaganda videos circulated widely on discussion boards and social media, seeking new recruits.<\/p>\n
IS has also created deepfake audio recordings of its own leaders reciting scripture and used AI to quickly translate messages into multiple languages, according to researchers at SITE Intelligence Group, a firm that tracks extremist activities and has investigated IS’s evolving use of AI.<\/p>\n
\u2018Aspirational\u2019 \u2014 for now<\/p>\n
Such groups lag behind China, Russia or Iran and still view the more sophisticated uses of AI as \u201caspirational,\u201d according to Marcus Fowler, a former CIA agent who is now CEO at Darktrace Federal, a cybersecurity firm that works with the federal government.<\/p>\n
But the risks are too high to ignore and are likely to grow as the use of cheap, powerful AI expands, he said.<\/p>\n
Hackers are already using synthetic audio and video for phishing campaigns, in which they try to impersonate a senior business or government leader to gain access to sensitive networks. They can also use AI to write malicious code or automate some aspects of cyberattacks.<\/p>\n