The role of artificial intelligence in militant recruitment is growing exponentially, making a significant impact on how terrorist groups interact with vulnerable individuals in the online space.

Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence, deepfake technology and autonomous chatbots have made it much easier for terrorist groups to spread their narratives and circumvent counter-terrorism monitoring measures. These seemingly progressive developments pose a direct challenge to internet platforms, intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies, as artificial intelligence (AI) allows spreading extremist content with greater speed and resistance to traditional countermeasures.

We will examine the current situation in AI-enabled terrorist recruitment, focusing on the ways in which terrorist groups such as IS-Khorasan Province have integrated AI into their radicalisation strategies.

Analysing the current situation

 

AI has refined terrorist organisations' approaches to using social media. AI algorithms can analyse how users interact with content, allowing groups to identify potential supporters. The use of real-time data to analyse the behaviour of social media users makes AI-assisted radicalisation much more effective than traditional recruitment methods. Unlike physical individuals, AI-based chatbots can operate continuously across multiple platforms, engaging in communication that mimics human interaction and analysing behavioural patterns. Responses are generated based on the ideological inclinations and vulnerabilities of the individual. Thus, the risk of passive recruitment using AI is extremely high and continues to grow.

IS-Khorasan Province (ISKP)

In this context, ISKP terrorist group which has developed sophisticated multi-stage mechanisms of modern cyber warfare and digital influence should be mentioned separately. The group is actively using AI to expand its recruitment base, bypass security monitoring and maintain ideological cohesion despite territorial losses.

 Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan and weakened ISKP’s position, this group had increasingly relied on virtual tools. AI now plays a crucial role in ISKP media, propaganda and recruitment strategy, allowing the group to remain active despite increased counterterrorism measures.

ISKP’s propaganda strategy benefits from a deep understanding of the situation in the region, cleverly exploiting existing social and political tensions and ongoing conflicts. In particular, the group formulates its rhetoric in a way that resonates with certain groups of the population. A critical component of this approach is the extensive use of regional languages, including Pashto, Tajik, and Uzbek, which allows ISKP to directly engage with target audiences on a region-specific basis. The multilingual approach deepens ISKP’s ties with different ethnic and national groups by engaging with them within their cultural contexts.

After the August 2021 terrorist attack on Kabul airport, ISKP stepped up its propaganda efforts, targeting disillusioned Taliban members affected by rifts within the movement and contentious diplomatic negotiations. In its rhetoric, the group portrayed the U.S.-Taliban peace agreements as a betrayal of the entire Muslim world. Thus, rifts within the Taliban movement were used to recruit defectors disillusioned by perceived ideological compromises.

Similarly, after the October 2021 attack on a Shia mosque in Kunduz, ISKP exploited existing sectarian tensions, seeking to exacerbate them through carefully crafted narratives. The group positioned itself as a defender of Sunni interests, framing violence against Shia communities as justified religious retribution, thereby exploiting Shia opposition to attract additional support.

ISKP’s propaganda is centrally managed by its media wing, the Al-Azaim Foundation, which actively promotes “media jihad” by encouraging the dissemination of propaganda by the group's supporters. The foundation itself often posts violent footage to demonstrate the group's power and legitimacy.

“Al-Azaim is responsible for producing and distributing a wide range of multilingual content, including magazines, videos, and newsletters aimed at a diverse audience both inside and outside Afghanistan.”

Al-Azaim Foundation's role and efforts in spreading extremist ideology underscore ISKPs organisational commitment to maintaining a centralised and extensive propaganda network, maximising its ability to spread the group's narratives and influence potential supporters.

The use of AI by the ISKP for propaganda purposes represents part of a broader trend seen throughout the Islamic State (IS) network. This means that the terrorist organisation is actively using new technologies to achieve its strategic goals. 

It is worth noting that, as such, the use of multimedia in the propaganda activities of terrorist groups has been observed for more than two decades. Al-Qaeda's early video propaganda of the late 1990s and early 2000s reflected the technological limitations of the time, and the groups prioritised content over form. Current digital technology allows them to perfect the form, too.

AI-generated newscasts are highly sophisticated and visually appealing, as they virtually indistinguishable from conventional media broadcasts. AI-generated avatars, supported by sophisticated deepfake technology, deliver propaganda messages in the neutral, professional tone of TV anchors, thereby inspiring trust from the audience. The AI-generated presenter reads out statements that reinforce the rhetoric of ISKP. One such programme was devoted to the tragic events at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow. It presented the terrorist attack as a challenge to Russia's security system.

 

The images published in ISKP newsletters are manipilated using the previously mentioned deepfake technology, which helps propagandists to manipulate facts by adding images of terrorist attacks in order to exaggerate the level of destruction and chaos. To achieve their propaganda goals, the group uses AI to tweak the original footage, creating the illusion of a much larger explosion or a higher death toll than what actually took place. Messages can also include fabricated speeches by political figures. The inclusion of synthetic voices and images enhanced with deepfake technology ensured that ISKP propaganda would have a much wider reach.  

A notable technological shift occurred in the group's media propaganda after the 17 May 2024 terrorist attack in Bamiyan, when ISKP released an AI-generated propaganda bulletin, a 52-second Pashto-language video with a presenter who looked like a local man. The material was distributed through the group's official channels, including the Al-Azaim Media Foundation.

In addition to AI-generated news content, ISKP has explored other innovative propaganda methods, including animated content targeted at children and online AI training courses for its media activists, initiated as early as 2023.

ISKP outreach activities, centrally coordinated through the Al-Azaim Foundation, are conducted through multilingual media to effectively engage with diverse audiences. The integration of on-the-ground activities with advanced digital technologies, including the innovative use of AI-generated propaganda, underscores the adaptive nature of ISKP and is a reminder of the threat the terrorist group poses to regional and global security.

The evolution of ISKP recruitment strategy is marked by a particular ingenuity: the use of AI allows it to break down language barriers and expand its ideological presence to new areas: Pashtun-speaking, Persian- and Russian-speaking regions, and even digital spaces frequented by the group's European supporters.

ISKP’s multilingual approach to propaganda dissemination is just a component of the group's deeper strategy, namely the use of social media algorithms to amplify extremist propaganda. AI allows it to optimise this process by improving audience segmentation. Its algorithmic precision facilitates a self-reinforcing cycle of ideological entrenchment, accelerating radicalisation. The terrorist group's propaganda actively uses keywords, hashtags and algorithms to optimise content visibility.

Thus, AI-enabled propaganda increases the risk of online radicalisation, which means that there is a need for advanced counter-terrorism measures in the digital space. This, in turn, requires a multi-pronged strategic approach that goes beyond technological innovation. Besides, effective implementation of countermeasures requires a balance between security measures and privacy protection. 

 

In order to address the issue in practice, technology companies should prioritise the development of transparent monitoring tools. This can be achieved by implementing regular audits and refining AI algorithms.

In addition, governments and international bodies can facilitate inter-agency cooperation by establishing a clear legal framework that balances privacy rights with the need for effective measures to counter extremist propaganda. This requires sustained, multifaceted efforts that would combine technological capabilities with a deep understanding of the social and political contexts that fuel radicalisation.