--- title: "UK Appointee Warns Rogue AIs Could Recruit Terrorists" description: "One of the UK's terrorism watchdogs is warning that human society may soon start to witness AI-assisted — or even AI-propogated — terrorism." date: "2023-04-10" modified: "2023-04-10" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/rogue-ai-recruit-terrorists" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "online extremism" - "terrorism" - "the digest" --- # UK Appointee Warns Rogue AIs Could Recruit Terrorists ![One of the UK's terrorism watchdogs is warning that human society may soon start to witness AI-assisted — or even AI-propogated — terrorism.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Bark Bark Bark One of the UK's terrorism watchdogs is warning that human society may soon start to witness full-blown AI-assisted, or even AI-propagated, terrorism. "I believe it is entirely conceivable that AI chatbots will be programmed — or, even worse, decide — to propagate violent extremist ideology," Jonathan Hall, who has served as the UK parliament's current Independent Reviewer or Terrorism Legislation since 2019, [told the *Daily Mail*](), ominously warning that "AI-enabled attacks are probably round the corner." ## Extremists Wanted Global terrorism experts have been discussing AI for some time now, although much of that discussion has been about using AI tools like [facial recognition]() and other [data-collection]() to *prevent* terrorism. In recent months, however, that discussion has started to shift, as the growing public availability of increasingly powerful AI-powered technologies, such as deepfake tech and generative text and image AI systems, has stoked new concern regarding [disinformation]() and terrorism. Hall, for his part, makes a compelling case for those growing concerns, arguing that large language model (LLM) -powered tools like ChatGPT — designed to sound eloquent, confident, and convincing, regardless of what they're arguing for — could not only be a cheap and effective tool used by terrorists to sow chaos by way of AI-generated propaganda and disinfo, but even to *recruit* new extremists as well, including those who might be acting alone and are seeking validation and community online. And while that might sound pretty out-there, a chatbot has[ already allegedly played a role]() in causing a disaffected user to take his own life; how far away are we, *really,* from a chatbot validating a user's wish to harm others? "Terrorism follows life," Hall told the *Mail*. "When we move online as a society, terrorism moves online." ## Early Birds Hall also made the point that terrorists tend to be "early tech adopters," he added, citing terrorist groups' "misuse of 3D-printed guns and cryptocurrency" as recent examples of bad actors using burgeoning tools to cause chaos and harm. More, the lawyer says that because of how vague (and frankly, relatively nonexistent) the norms and laws regarding AI currrently are, AI terrorism may be particularly difficult to both track and prosecute. And that's already true now; what happens when, theoretically, a rogue AI escapes its guardrails and starts acting out on its own? It may never happen, but it's not *outside* the [realm of possibility](). "The criminal law does not extend to robots, the AI groomer will go scot-free," Hall told the outlet, adding that the law often fails to "operate reliably when the responsibility is shared between man and machine." So, you know. Happy Monday. **More on AI:** [*Newspaper Alarmed When ChatGPT References Article It Never Published*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()