How do you jump a military trench on a motorcycle? For commanders in Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the answer came from prompting generative AI. From dedicated prompt-engineering cells to encrypted satellite links paid for by central Islamic State cadres, former insurgents reveal how Boko Haram offshoots turned consumer software into a tactical weapon.
In this edition of Delve into AI, ADONIJAH NDEGE, writes about how off-the-shelf algorithms are giving terrorists a dangerous edge, and why regional governments are being outlearned on the battlefield. Around military bases across northeastern Nigeria, deep defensive trenches serve as a low-tech bulwark against militants from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram breakaway faction. Because motorcycles cannot easily cross these ditches, the perimeter defences give soldiers crucial minutes to react.
Stymied by the obstacle, ISWAP commanders turned to artificial intelligence. Former ISWAP members revealed to University of Cambridge researchers that commanders used commercial AI models to brainstorm tactical workarounds, including using motorcycles to jump trenches and breach fortified perimeter gates. Other insurgents leveraged the tools to troubleshoot captured government weaponry, refine attack logistics, engineer explosives, and bolster operational security.
These revelations point to a terrifying evolution: a lethal insurgent movement accelerating its problem-solving capacity at negligible cost. That reality presents a formidable challenge for governments across the Sahel and East Africa. What happens when non-state actors that have survived decades of costly, multi-nation counterterrorism campaigns gain cheap, frictionless access to expert-level problem-solving software? And are state security apparatuses adapting fast enough to match them?
Until recently, security analysts framed the threat of generative AI largely around automated propaganda, translating manifestos, fabricating deepfake videos, generating synthetic imagery, and multiplying recruitment output with minimal human capital. The Cambridge findings, however, expose a far more perilous shift: AI has moved from the marketing department