‘God has helped us, and so will AI’ — Boko Haram now using chatbots for bomb-making, attacks, report finds
By Ishaya Ibrahim
“God has helped us, and so will AI.” That was the claim of a Boko Haram commander describing how the terror group is now relying on artificial intelligence chatbots to refine battlefield tactics, design more destructive explosives, and overcome military defenses, according to a New York Times report Friday.
The report, based on a University of Cambridge study by terrorism researcher Antonia Juelich, draws from interviews with former Boko Haram and ISWAP members over the past year. It found fighters are consulting AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek for technical guidance they once learned through deadly trial-and-error.
After a failed assault on a military base was blocked by a defensive trench, commanders said they turned to AI for help modifying motorcycles to jump the obstacle.
“We saw in a movie how motorcycles can jump over bridges. We used AI to learn how to do this,” one former commander told Juelich. “We gave it information, like what motorcycles we use and the distance we need to jump, and it gave us steps on what we have to do.”
Mechanics then upgraded the bikes for speed, and fighters practiced the maneuver before launching a new attack.
The study said insurgents also asked chatbots direct questions like “How can I build a bomb?” to improve IEDs. “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,” one former member said.
“Trial-and-error can kill you. AI gives you accuracy,” another told the researcher.
While companies including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic say their models have safeguards to refuse dangerous requests, former fighters claimed they bypassed restrictions by framing queries as film projects or comparing answers across platforms.
The findings suggest extremist groups are moving beyond using generative AI for propaganda and recruitment into real-time operational planning. As one commander put it: “God has helped us, and so will AI.”
