{"id":26588,"date":"2026-09-20T12:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T12:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=26588"},"modified":"2026-09-20T12:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T12:46:15","slug":"how-can-i-build-a-bomb-it-tells-you-how-how-boko-haram-fighters-are-using-ai-to-make-explosives-plan-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=26588","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;How can I build a bomb? It tells you how&#8217;: How Boko Haram fighters are using AI to make explosives, plan attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134366707,imgsize-91322,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/image-6.jpg\" alt=\"'How can I build a bomb? It tells you how': How Boko Haram fighters are using AI to make explosives, plan attacks\" title=\"Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology companies. (Photo: Reuters)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology companies. (Photo: Reuters)\">Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology companies. (Photo: Reuters)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving beyond its everyday uses in writing, research and answering questions, and a new research has highlighted how the technology is also being exploited by armed groups.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology companies to seek technical advice, plan attacks and troubleshoot problems during combat, according to study by the University of Cambridge.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The findings are based on interviews with 27 former members of the group\u2019s two factions: Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019wah wa\u2019l-Jihad (JAS), according to AL Jazeera.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>Several former members told researchers they routinely used OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT, Anthropic&#8217;s Claude, Google&#8217;s Gemini, xAI&#8217;s Grok, Meta AI and China&#8217;s DeepSeek for technical and military advice before, during and after attacks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>Separately, material obtained by Al Jazeera showed supporters of the wider ISIL (ISIS) movement discussing ways to bypass AI safety controls and obtain weapons-related information.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>Researchers from Tech Against Terrorism found such discussions on a pro-ISIL online technical forum. The findings come amid growing concern over the use of emerging technologies by extremist groups.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>UN officials warned the Security Council in February about increased use of advanced AI by ISIL and its affiliates, while researchers and technology experts have raised concerns that AI capabilities are advancing faster than safety measures.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>\u201cThere is nothing we haven\u2019t received an answer on,\u201d a former ISWAP commander told the researchers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3>How are they turning AI into battlefield tools<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>The Cambridge research describes an organised effort to introduce AI tools to senior members of ISWAP.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>According to former fighters, operatives travelled to ISWAP-controlled areas to train senior members in using AI systems. Fighters were gathered around laptops and projectors and shown how to interact with chatbots and get around safeguards designed to prevent dangerous responses.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>\u201cThe white guys came and taught us,\u201d one former commander recalled, AL Jazeera reported. <!-- -->\u201cThey assembled the top people in a room and used a projector to show how it works on a big screen,\u201d he added.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>Former fighters said trainers provided laptops equipped with privacy and encryption tools and helped members set up accounts and paid subscriptions to multiple AI platforms.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>The research suggests that AI use went beyond individual fighters occasionally consulting ChatGPT. Both ISWAP and JAS reportedly developed dedicated AI units involving people with technical and operational expertise, including engineers, weapons specialists and bomb-makers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>One former JAS commander described a 23-member unit working from a solar-powered room, where members answered questions, analysed information and trained senior commanders.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>\u201c\u2018Ask how can I build a bomb?\u2019 and then it tells you how,\u201d a former Boko Haram commander said. \u201cIt is like a human robot. We used it a lot.\u201d \u201cGod has helped us, and so will AI,\u201d another former member added.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3>AI as an on-demand technical adviser<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Antonia Juelich, who authored the Cambridge study, told Al Jazeera that about 10 of the 27 people interviewed discussed using AI in connection with explosives.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>Juelich said the concern was not simply that AI could provide information about weapons, much of that information was already available through manuals and online sources. The greater concern, she said, was the ability of AI systems to respond to specific problems and provide follow-up answers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>Former fighters described consulting chatbots while working with limited materials and returning to the systems when they encountered difficulties.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/>Researchers also heard accounts of AI being consulted in connection with unexploded military ordnance and the adaptation of commercially available drones for attacks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3>How to operate firearms: &#8216;Just ask Grok&#8217;<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>The reported use of AI extended beyond explosives and into other aspects of combat. In one account, a fighter used a body-mounted camera to send images back to his base.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/>A commander then uploaded the footage to ChatGPT to analyse the situation and relay instructions to fighters on the ground.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"56\"\/>Former fighters also described consulting AI when they encountered unfamiliar weapons. In one instance, when commanders asked an AI specialist how to operate newly acquired firearms, the response was, \u201cJust ask Grok.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"58\"\/>AI was also reportedly consulted after government forces changed battlefield tactics, including digging trenches around bases to prevent motorcycle attacks. Former fighters said commanders used AI to explore possible ways around such obstacles.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"61\"\/>According to another former ISWAP member, commanders also used AI to assess battlefield tactics after suffering heavy losses in an operation. Former members said they continued consulting chatbots after failed operations, explaining what had happened and asking the systems to help identify possible reasons for failure.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"63\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3>How ISIL supporters are bypassing AI safeguards<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>The use of AI is not limited to fighters operating on the ground. Tech Against Terrorism researchers who accessed a pro-ISIL technical forum found supporters discussing ways to circumvent the safeguards built into AI systems to prevent dangerous requests.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"67\"\/>One supporter compared the process to modifying a car.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"69\"\/>\u201cIt\u2019s like removing the speed limiter of the car,\u201d the user wrote. \u201cThe car still works but now it\u2019s become more useful and it can go way faster than the manufacturer intended.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"71\"\/>Lucas Webber of Tech Against Terrorism said researchers were seeing growing discussion around attempts to \u201cjailbreak\u201d AI systems, a term used for efforts to make models ignore their safety restrictions.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"74\"\/>\u201cThis is the tip of the iceberg,\u201d he said. Juelich said requests for information that could facilitate bomb-making should fall clearly outside AI companies\u2019 permitted uses.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"76\"\/>\u201cThey are jailbreaking, circumventing the restrictions,\u201d she said, arguing that increasingly powerful AI systems may require stronger regulation.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"79\"\/>Major AI companies say they have safeguards intended to prevent their systems from being misused for terrorism, violence and weapons development.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"82\"\/>The debate comes as concerns grow over whether AI safety measures are keeping pace with the rapid development of increasingly capable systems.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"84\"\/>The Cambridge interviews largely describe AI use by Boko Haram factions during 2023 and 2024. Juelich told Al Jazeera that the findings were particularly concerning because AI systems have advanced significantly since then.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"86\"\/>She was worried about what the same fighters might now be capable of doing with more advanced AI systems available in 2026.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/rest-of-world\/how-can-i-build-a-bomb-it-tells-you-how-how-boko-haram-fighters-are-using-ai-to-make-explosives-plan-attacks\/articleshow\/134366362.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology companies. (Photo: Reuters) Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving beyond its everyday uses in writing, research and answering questions, and a new research has highlighted how the technology is also being exploited by armed groups.Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology companies. (Photo: Reuters) Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving beyond its everyday uses in writing, research and answering questions, and a new research has highlighted how the technology is also being exploited by armed groups.Boko Haram fighters have been using AI chatbots from major technology [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":2,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":6,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}