WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / November 20, 2025 / The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a new report titled "Artificial Intelligence And The New Era Of Terrorism: An Assessment Of How Jihadis Are Using AI To Expand Their Propaganda, Recruitment, And Operations And The Implications For National Security" by lead author MEMRI Executive Director Dr. Steven Stalinsky. The study draws on research from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) and Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL) projects between 2022 and 2025; both projects have been closely monitoring developments in jihadi use of artificial intelligence (AI).
This study details the notable uses of AI over the past three years by terrorist groups – ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, the Houthis, Hamas, other groups, and lone wolf actors, including many in the West – for purposes such as planning and claiming responsibility for attacks, examining AI use for future endeavors, generating audio files of already-existing written material, creating posters, music videos, videos depicting attacks and glorifying terrorist leaders for recruitment purposes, and more.
This issue is developing rapidly, as these groups and others increasingly dabble in, talk about, and create video, media, and other content using AI. In the face of this emerging threat, the U.S. government and its allies need to maintain its superiority, closely monitoring it and moving to stop it from progressing further.
This new study also highlights the near-absence of U.S. government and policymakers’ focus on this issue. One exception it underlines is the "Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act," would "require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the United States posed by terrorist organizations utilizing generative artificial intelligence applications, and for other purposes." The legislation, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), who chairs the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and cosponsored by Reps. Michael Guest (R-MS) and Gabr Evans (R-CO) in late February 2025, passed unanimously by voice vote in the House of Representatives on November 19.
The report’s lead author, Dr. Stalinsky, notes that while there have been some articles on this issue, this new MEMRI study is the most comprehensive research on it to date, presenting never-before-published translations of statements and writings by terrorist groups and of their AI activity.
In his foreword to the report, General (Ret.) Paul E. Funk II, former Commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and member of the MEMRI Board of Advisors, calls the new study "a significant and unsettling contribution to the public debate on AI’s future global impact." He adds: "It will contribute greatly to the existing literature about terrorists’ groups focus on AI as a new tool and weapon in their arsenals. For decades, MEMRI has been monitoring terrorist organizations and examining how they repurpose civilian technologies for their own use – first the Internet in general, then online discussion forums followed by social media, as well as other emerging technologies such as encryption, cryptocurrency, and drones. Now, terrorist use of large language models – aka Artificial Intelligence (AI) – is clearly evident, as documented in this study."
General (Ret.) Funk continues: "This study warns of the need to consider and plan now for AI’s possible centrality in the next mass terror attack – just as the 9/11 attackers took advantage of the inadequate aviation security of that time. Whatever approaches and solutions may be proposed, this study will help readers understand the nature of the problem. It is a primer on how this threat is coalescing, day by day, and is a must-read for all those concerned, in government, the military, and academia."
MEMRI Vice President Ambassador Alberto Fernandez called the new report "an essential, comprehensive review of the newest frontier in terrorism and tech."
Further highlighting the significance of the new study, MEMRI Board of Advisors’ member Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Tom Cosentino, who is currently CEO of Governance Risk Global, said: "The competition and the threat in AI is not just from state actors. Increasingly terrorist organizations, criminal cartels and extremist groups are leveraging AI to disrupt and attack government, businesses and communities. Only by knowing intimately the objectives and methods of these groups can their AI attacks be countered. MEMRI is at the forefront on monitoring and understanding these dangerous uses of AI."
Dr. Stalinsky praised MEMRI’s team of experts for their research in one of the most significant issues of our time, and went on to warn that the findings from their monitoring of every leading global terrorist organization show not only that counter-terrorism authorities in the U.S. and West are unprepared to deal with this but also that many in the AI industry have taken no substantial action to set up safeguards for stopping terrorists from using their products.
Government and media can request the full report or ask for an interview by sending an email to media@memri.org with "Tunnels Report" in the subject line.
ABOUT THE JIHAD & TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR (JTTM)
The MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) scrutinizes Islamist terrorism and violent extremism worldwide, with special focus on activity within and emanating from the Arab world, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, as well as on attacks and activity in the West inspired and encouraged by the Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and other global jihad organizations. This activity includes lone-wolf attacks by residents of Western countries.
The JTTM monitors imminent and potential threats posed by various terrorist and violent extremist organizations – such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, and emerging jihadi groups – and individuals. These threats, whether strategic, tactical, military, conventional, non-conventional, or cyber, may be against national security and public safety in the U.S. and the West, or against these countries’ crucial interests and assets worldwide. It also examines and analyzes the ideological motivations behind these threats, and includes a decade and a half of archives of exclusive content on jihad and terrorism.
ABOUT THE CYBER & JIHAD LAB (CJL)
The Cyber & Jihad Lab monitors, tracks, translates, researches, and analyzes cyber jihad originating from the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and North and West Africa. It innovates and experiments with possible solutions for stopping cyber jihad, advancing legislation and initiatives federally – including with Capitol Hill and attorneys-general – and on the state level, to draft and enforce measures that will serve as precedents for further action. It works with leaders in business, law enforcement, academia, and families of terror victims to craft and support efforts and solutions to combat cyber jihad, and recruits, and works with technology industry leaders to craft and support efforts and solutions.
ABOUT MEMRI
Exploring the Middle East and South Asia through their media, MEMRI bridges the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu-Pashtu, Dari, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends.
Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. MEMRI’s main office is in Washington, DC, with branch offices in various world capitals. MEMRI research is translated into English, French, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and Hebrew.
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Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) – www.memri.org/jttm
Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL) – www.memri.org/cjlab
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SOURCE: Middle East Media Research Institute
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