A new report by the Cambridge Program on AI Science and Policy reveals that Boko Haram is integrating artificial intelligence into its insurgency by using widely available AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, and DeepSeek to support attack planning, explosive design, drone operations, and battlefield decision-making.
The report, based on 57 face-to-face interviews conducted in Borno and Adamawa states between 2025 and 2026, found that terrorist organizations have gone beyond casual experimentation with AI to establish dedicated technical departments responsible for applying the technology across various stages of operations.
Researchers interviewed 27 former Boko Haram members, including mid-ranking commanders, bomb makers, engineers, weapons experts, and other technical personnel. Their testimony covered the group’s AI activities from 2023 to 2024, with one participant providing information up to mid-2025.
According to the report, 15 of the 27 interviewees had first-hand knowledge of the AI program, while the remaining participants were unaware because access to the AI program was limited to selected commanders and specialized technical teams.
The findings showed that both factions of Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jamaat al-Sunnah Riddawati wal-Jihad (JAS), have created dedicated AI units consisting of between five and 20 members. These teams included bomb makers, engineers, intelligence officers, firearms experts, computer-savvy combatants, and senior commanders.
ISWAP has reportedly set up AI units across its major operational bases, including Sambisa Forest, Timbuktu, and the Lake Chad region. The Lake Chad unit was said to be the group’s most senior AI center and was closely supervised by Islamic State-linked operatives.
JAS has also developed a central AI unit alongside smaller teams operating under four senior commanders.
Unlike regular fighters, these special forces members were exempt from front-line combat. Their primary responsibility was to interact with the AI system, analyze its responses, and translate that information into operational guidance for commanders and warfighters.
One former member told researchers that access to the computers was tightly controlled and only designated AI experts were allowed to use the system before passing instructions up the chain of command.
The report further revealed that foreign Islamic State operatives introduced this technology to ISWAP through a structured training program. Senior commanders reportedly participated in a demonstration where the AI tool was projected on a screen, and selected service members received hands-on instruction in using the platform.
One training session reportedly involved 30 to 50 hand-picked commanders and combatants, with each battalion nominating its most technically capable members.
The researchers found that the first Lake Chad AI unit later trained about 10 people in each of 12 operational camps, building a network of experts while maintaining strict restrictions on direct access to the technology.
The foreign agents also provided laptops specifically for AI-related work, installed virtual private networks (VPNs) and encryption software, created user accounts, paid for premium subscriptions, and provided ongoing support on how to create prompts that could circumvent the platform’s safeguards.
The report said Boko Haram maintained subscriptions to multiple AI providers using accounts created and funded by members of the broader Islamic State network operating in countries such as Sudan. Some accounts reportedly belonged to supporters outside Nigeria, while others were linked to deceased members, making it more difficult for providers to identify or disable them.
The report documents several operational applications of AI, including planning attacks, designing and troubleshooting explosive devices, repairing firearms and vehicles, improving logistics and procurement, enhancing communications security, calculating drone payloads, improving drone release mechanisms, analyzing battlefield imagery, and reviewing failed operations to improve future attacks.
In one instance, AI reportedly helped ISWAP commanders devise a way to cross military defensive trenches on motorcycles after an earlier attack had failed.
Another account described how images taken by fighters wearing chest-mounted cameras were sent to commanders, who uploaded the footage to ChatGPT for battlefield analysis and then sent revised tactical instructions back to the fighters.
Former bomb makers told researchers that they frequently referenced the AI system while building explosive devices, returning to chatbots whenever their designs failed or needed modification.
Interviewees said the technology has allowed the group to use smaller forces to coordinate attacks, increase the effectiveness of its explosives and reduce casualties among its own fighters.
One former member summed up the technology’s perceived value to researchers: While AI becomes more accurate, “trial and error can cost lives.”
The report also revealed that AI played a role in ISWAP’s growing drone program by providing guidance on payload calculations and mechanisms for releasing loads during operations.
Researchers said the platform’s security measures were often circumvented after foreign trainers taught selected members how to disguise prohibited requests as material intended for fictitious research or film production. When one chatbot denied a request or terminated an account, the operatives switched to an alternative account or another AI platform.
Although some interviewees discussed interest in chemical and biological weapons and described limited experimentation with chemicals, the report found no evidence that any faction of Boko Haram currently possesses developed chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons capabilities.
The researchers concluded that Boko Haram has transformed publicly accessible AI chatbots into an organizational technical support system controlled by senior commanders, supported by foreign extremist networks, and integrated into various aspects of the group’s insurgency.
