The Trends Research and Advisory Centre has released a new research study titled “Artificial Intelligence and Terrorism: Mechanisms and Countermeasures,” aiming to analyse how terrorist groups employ artificial intelligence (AI) and to propose solutions to mitigate such usage, leveraging AI itself.
Conducted by researcher Hamad Al-Hosani, the study sheds light on the diverse applications of AI in terrorist operations, ranging from planning and financing to execution and propaganda dissemination.
The research indicates that terrorist groups employ various techniques, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, malware, decryption, drones, and spreading false propaganda to achieve their objectives.
The study offers a range of solutions to counter the use of AI by terrorist groups. These include undermining extremist ideologies by disseminating counter-narratives presenting facts contradicting terrorist ideas, predicting terrorist attacks using intelligent models tracking the online behaviour of terrorist group members, identifying terrorists by analyzing their online behaviours and financial transactions, as well as tracking terrorist financing using techniques like Open Source Intelligence (OSINT).
Furthermore, it suggests enhancing decision-making processes by analyzing big data related to terrorism and fostering digital cooperation among countries and institutions involved in counter-terrorism efforts.
The study emphasizes that while AI holds immense potential in combating terrorism, it also poses risks that must be carefully considered, such as concerns regarding human rights violations, such as surveillance of individuals and restriction of freedom of expression.
It anticipates that AI will be a central focus in future efforts against terrorism and extremism, stressing the importance of developing advanced intelligent applications for prediction, immunization, and pursuit to address this growing threat.
