In a rapidly evolving world of technology and artificial intelligence, terrorist groups aspire to utilize these new tools, with artificial intelligence at the forefront, to execute their attacks more easily and with greater impact. There is growing concern about the increasing use of technology by terrorist and extremist groups, especially with advancements in this field.

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Direct Threat

Several reports have revealed that terrorist groups can employ artificial intelligence at all stages of a terrorist attack, whether in the pre-attack phase, espionage, recruitment, or in determining the optimal method of attack based on the location or targeted individuals, or even during the execution of the attack itself using drones, for example, to target specific individuals.

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According to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, threats that terrorist groups could pose using artificial intelligence include denial-of-service attacks, by sending a massive volume of data or connection requests, known as “traffic congestion,” to targeted sites, rendering these sites inaccessible to regular users.

Uses to Their Advantage

Engineer Ahmed Tarek, an expert in information technology and cybersecurity, states that the major concern regarding the use of new technologies by terrorist groups lies in their use of malicious or harmful software, which can be loaded with viruses enabling terrorist groups to disable, take control, or spy on the computers of targeted individuals or entities. He adds that terrorist groups also use artificial intelligence to prepare and disseminate false propaganda, recruit individuals, infiltrate national security and defense systems, and security institutions.

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He emphasizes that the capabilities of artificial intelligence are not limited to just its use by terrorist groups, but states can also employ artificial intelligence to prevent these groups from carrying out their terrorist operations.

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Counterterrorism Efforts

It is worth noting that the use of artificial intelligence can contribute to the fight against terrorist operations by undermining extremist ideologies. States can use artificial intelligence to identify content containing terrorist ideas and block it, or even disseminate contrary content containing facts contradicting the promoted terrorist ideologies.