ISIS Offshoot Wants Members to 'Responsibly' Tap Into AI

ISIS' Afghan offshoot is publishing something unexpected in its English-language magazine: AI user guides. Per Politico, recent issues of Voice of Khorasan, produced by Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), lay out how followers should use artificial intelligence "responsibly" as part of their activities. One edition opens with the slogan "AI is like fire. You can use it to light a home, or to burn it down," then offers tips on using chatbots for religious messaging and online outreach while staying anonymous. The EU sanctioned the magazine's publisher, Al Azaim Media Foundation, last year. IS-K has been tied to attacks in Afghanistan, as well as Russia, Iran, and Pakistan, and linked to a foiled plot against Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna in 2024.

The guidance urges recruits to become "cyber-conscious," warning them not to feed chatbots names, files, or queries that could identify them or touch on sensitive political or security issues. Earlier content goes further, declaring AI literacy a personal religious duty on par with prayer and fasting and calling the technology a "shield and compass" in a digital world rife with threats. A previous issue also ranked mainstream AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, and Chinese firm DeepSeek, as well as steered readers toward privacy-focused tools such as Brave Leo for "sensitive queries"—all while criticizing systems it claims are tied to Israeli military infrastructure.

The material has caught the attention of terrorism and AI experts. Jonathan Hall, the UK government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, warns that off-the-shelf AI, including large language models, is helping create "tailored propaganda" and could eventually enable "chatbot radicalization." Avi Jager of AI security firm Alice said the guidance signals more than just practical advice: It represents a shift from earlier jihadi skepticism about high-tech tools to an explicit embrace of AI, as long as it's used under tightly defined conditions. These outlets have more on how militant groups like ISIS are wielding AI for everything from financing their operations to luring in teens.