Boko Haram now uses AI to manufacture deadly weapons

By Abdulrauf Sanusi

The violent group Boko Haram now uses Artificial Intelligence to produce deadly weapons.

The terrorist group associated with thousands of killings in Nigeria has advanced its criminal records to poducing bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices, [IED] using Artificial Intelligence.

Boko Haram operates in the North East of Nigeria and its believed to share operational logistics with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, [ISIS]. The group mutates ISIS in West Africa, where is it also known as Islamic State of West African Province, [ISWAP].

The group has continue to carry out violent attacks through kidnapping of students, men and women, bank raids and assault on important military outposts.

The New York Times recently reported that Boko Haram terrorists now apply intelligence (AI) for making weapons making, including bombs. The group is also reported to have employed AI in its strategic military operations.

The New York Times reported that multiple AI hubs, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek are now being deployed by Boko Haram.

The Newspaper quoted Boko Haram telling Antonia Juelich of the University of Cambridge that following assault on a military base, the group then reached out to AI tools to improve operational strategy.

The report said some of the lesson learnt was how to modify motorcycles to jump over obstacles.

The report said Boko Haram experts altered motorcycles to improve speed and acceleration, and fighters practiced maneuvers before operations.

Juelich reported former Boko Haram commander saying “We saw in a movie how motorcycles can jump over bridges.

“We used AI to learn how to do this. We gave it information like which motorcycles we use, the distance we need to jump, and so on. And it gave us steps on what we have to do.”

Another Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP also told Juelich, “You type in the question or use your voice, and it gives you a detailed answer, like ‘How can I build a bomb?’ and then it tells you how.

“It is like a human robot! We used it a lot. Trial-and-error can kill you. AI gives you accuracy,” he said.

“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,” he said.

In its own reply OpenAI told The New York Times that the terrorists violated its policies with such actions.

The report said Boko Haram employ many decoys to deceived AI tools from detecting its motives.