Boko Haram fighters are using Big Tech AI chatbots to help build more powerful bombs, plan attacks and solve problems during combat, according to University of Cambridge research. Researchers interviewed 27 former members of Boko Haram’s two factions, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad (JAS). Members described using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, Elon Musk’s Grok, Meta AI and China’s DeepSeek as a routine source of technical and military advice before, during and after attacks. Al Jazeera obtained exclusive material showing ISIL supporters sharing instructions on bypassing AI safety controls and obtaining weapons-related information; Tech Against Terrorism researchers infiltrated a pro-ISIL technical forum where supporters instructed one another on using AI and circumventing safety restrictions. In February, United Nations officials warned the Security Council of increased use of advanced AI by ISIL and its affiliates. Former fighters described operatives travelling to ISWAP-controlled territory to teach senior members how to use AI, with fighters assembled around laptops and projectors and shown how to query chatbots and circumvent safeguards. A former ISWAP commander said, “There is nothing we haven’t received an answer on.”