AI Adoption by Nigerian Jihadist Groups

Militant factions in Nigeria—Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa?l-Jihad (JAS), commonly known as Boko Haram—have moved from ad-hoc internet use to organized, unit-level integration of generative-AI tools. The study released in July 2024 documents systematic training sessions where senior fighters were shown how chat-based models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI and DeepSeek operate. Fighters reported using these systems for bomb-making instructions, battlefield-tactics analysis, and even engineering motorcycle jumps to cross military trenches. The research covers AI use from 2023 through 2024, with one interview conducted as late as 2025, indicating the practice persists despite evolving AI safeguards.

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Nigeria’s insurgency, which began in 2009, has long leveraged the internet and foreign expertise for propaganda and operational guidance. The recent shift to AI represents an acceleration of that trend, turning “step-by-step instructions” and on-demand questioning into a tactical asset. Former militants describe how AI-generated guidance directly altered combat methods, from modifying explosives to adapting unconventional mobility tactics.

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Antonia Juelich, a Cambridge University researcher who led the study, emphasized that the phenomenon is “institutionalised” with dedicated units receiving formal AI training. She warned that existing AI safeguards have not kept pace, noting that “explosives don’t fall into that category and that’s where safeguards should kick in, and they haven’t.” Technology firms behind the cited models have publicly cautioned that their tools could pose existential risks if misused, but no concrete mitigation specific to extremist use has been reported.

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Human-rights observers and AI ethicists argue that the rapid adoption of generative models by violent groups underscores a gap in responsible-AI governance. They call for stronger content-filtering mechanisms and real-time monitoring to prevent the dissemination of instructions for weaponisation, highlighting the tension between open-access AI development and security concerns.

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• “AI adoption by terrorist groups has been much faster, more extensive and more systematic than we thought,” — Antonia Juelich, Researcher, Cambridge University

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• “It's not just some individual commanders who became aware of AI, but they have really institutionalised it, in terms of having dedicated units” — Antonia Juelich

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• “We saw in a movie how motorcycles can jump over bridges. We used AI to learn how to do this,” — Former ISWAP militant

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• “AI told us what chemicals to put in that made the explosion heavier,” — Former JAS commander

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• “But explosives don't fall into that category and that's where safeguards should kick in, and they haven't,” — Antonia Juelich

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• “But I'm worried about the trajectory, where terrorist groups embrace AI and the safeguards are not strong enough,” — Antonia Juelich

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