Research by the University of Cambridge, based on interviews with 27 former Boko Haram members from ISWAP and JAS factions in Nigeria, found that fighters routinely used ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, Elon Musk's Grok, Meta AI, and China's DeepSeek to obtain technical and military advice before, during, and after attacks — with one former ISWAP commander stating 'There is nothing we haven't received an answer on.' Operatives were trained to circumvent AI safety controls at ISWAP-controlled facilities using laptops and projectors, and Al Jazeera obtained exclusive material from a pro-ISIL technical forum where supporters shared step-by-step methods to bypass AI restrictions. The findings emerged alongside February 2026 United Nations Security Council warnings about increased use of advanced AI by ISIL and its affiliates.
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