AI and Drones Empowering Terrorists with New Capabilities

Twenty-five years after the September 11th attacks, security experts warn of a persistent "failure of imagination" regarding terrorist threats, now amplified by readily accessible advanced technologies. While airports are no longer easy targets, terrorist organizations and violent extremists exploit the internet, encrypted communications, 3D printing, drones, virtual currencies, and artificial intelligence as significant "force multipliers." These technologies, once exclusive to states, are now commercial off-the-shelf products, lowering entry barriers for their use.

Terrorist groups have already demonstrated operational success with drones, notably Hezbollah's use of explosive-laden drones against Israel in 2006, and more recently by groups like Hamas, the Houthis, and ISIS. While spectacular drone attacks in Western countries have not yet occurred, foiled plots indicate how close they came to execution. Even lone actors are experimenting with drones, and ISIS has published online guides for arming them, with generative AI making the process seem more accessible.

Generative AI itself is increasingly featuring in foiled terror plots, used for propaganda dissemination by groups like ISIS's Khorasan province and for operational needs by Boko Haram. Individuals have used AI for detailed bomb-making instructions, operational security advice, and even to simulate adversary actions through chatbot interactions. The accessibility of open-source AI models raises concerns about terrorists using them undetected.

The internet serves as the primary infrastructure enabling terrorists to adopt these technologies, facilitating rapid message dissemination, recruitment, and direct communication. Without it, accessing crucial information would necessitate physical travel to training camps, a method now more easily monitored. While advanced technology offers advantages to terrorists, it also provides counter-terrorism bodies with tools to analyze vast data, identify patterns, and cross-reference intelligence, ultimately aiding in foiling plots, as seen when terrorists' use of chatbots for planning becomes an intelligence-gathering tool itself.