Boko Haram used AI tools like ChatGPT to plan attacks, build bombs: study

Boko Haram fighters have reportedly used sophisticated artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT and Grok, to plan attacks and develop explosive devices, according to a new study from the University of Cambridge. The research, detailed in a report titled ‘God has helped us, and so will AI: How the Terrorist Group Boko Haram Uses Frontier AI,’ is based on interviews with 27 former Boko Haram members in Northeast Nigeria conducted between 2025 and 2026.

Authored by Antonia Juelich, a terrorism researcher at Cambridge's Programme on AI Science & Policy, the study claims to offer the first field-based evidence of terrorist organizations adopting AI. The New York Times first reported on the findings. However, a review of the 93-page report by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that many central assertions could not be independently verified. The claims largely stem from interviews with defected former members, and the researcher herself noted the difficulty in corroborating information due to Boko Haram's clandestine nature.

The report lacks forensic evidence, platform records, or technical data directly linking the group to the AI systems. It also does not specify whether the AI companies were contacted or confirmed attempts by Boko Haram to use their services. The researcher cautioned that the study cannot definitively measure whether AI enhanced Boko Haram's operational effectiveness. Instead, it documents former members' perceptions that the technology made them more capable.

The Boko Haram insurgency, now in its 17th year, has caused over 35,000 deaths and displaced more than two million people, severely impacting Nigeria's Northeast. The study highlights that both factions of the group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), have allegedly used AI beyond propaganda for combat operations. Former members cited in the study claimed AI was used for planning attacks, enhancing operational security, troubleshooting weapons, providing logistical advice, and designing improvised explosive devices. Some also alleged AI assisted commanders in developing battlefield tactics and improving drone weaponization.

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We mostly used it in three ways: the first one is to learn how to assemble and use guns and how to manufacture bombs. The second one is for surveillance, like how to improve our surveillance strategies to monitor what is happening in our camps and also to better understand our enemy