Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would examine how foreign terrorist organizations use the internet and emerging technology to recruit, radicalize, and inspire attacks in the homeland.
The Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the United States posed by terrorist organizations using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) applications for terroristic activity.
GenAI can produce a variety of content including audio, images and text. Foreign terrorist organizations use GenAI for activities such as chatbots that interact with potential recruits. In addition, foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging applications have allowed radical extremism content on their platforms.
“With a resurgence of emboldened terrorist organizations across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, emerging technology serves as a potent weapon in their arsenal,” U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence chairman, who introduced the bill, said. “More than two decades after the September 11 terrorist attacks, foreign terrorist organizations now utilize cloud-based platforms, like Telegram or TikTok, as well as artificial intelligence in their efforts to radicalize, fundraise, and recruit on U.S. soil.”