Online Library

This chapter explores the manner in which extremist groups could use artificial intelligence (AI) in the future to promote their narratives and recruit people to their causes. It looks at four broad use cases, namely generative AI, chat bots, gaming, and predictive analytics, and analyzes how extremists could adapt their propaganda and outreach efforts to incorporate new and innovative AI-powered techniques which would revolutionize their efficacy. The chapter then analyzes the current regulatory environment with regard to online content to assess the extent to which we are prepared for the AI revolution as it pertains to political messaging and the dissemination of information online. The chapter also touches on what all of this means for our civil liberties and what they might look like in a digital era that is also experiencing decentralization and a decline in Big Tech’s monopoly. It concludes with some thoughts on what we can expect to see in the coming years and suggestions for further research.

VOX-Pol Blog post.

This paper considers American strategies for countering ISIS social media, focusing on notions of narrative and rational debate in the Web 2.0 era. In addition to chronicling an evolution in American governmental ideas about the online public sphere, the paper looks specifically at the work of Al-Tamimi, an open source journalist who verifies and catalogues original ISIS documentation. Using both textual analyses and long-form interviews with Al-Tamimi as evidence, the paper argues that Al-Tamimi’s archival work serves to disrupt emotionally driven, logically questionable narratives about ISIS, whether they emerge from the group itself or its Western opponents.

VOX-Pol Blog post.

This thesis is an examination of the backgrounds of twenty-five individuals who conducted a ‘jihad’ inspired terrorist attack within the United States between the years of 2001 and 2016 to determine if terrorists use physical training camps or online training camps as the main method of training to prepare for their attacks. The debate about the existence of online training camps is beneficial to the field of terrorism study. However, the question of what constitutes an online training camp must first be answered before it can be determined if terrorists are using online training camps. This thesis proposes a comprehensive definition for the term ‘online training camp;’ in an attempt to provide an analytical basis for the examination of U.S. based terrorist training to further the academic discussion. Additionally, it is suggested from the empirical examination of U.S.-based terrorist training backgrounds that terrorists appear to be engaging in supplemental self-directed online learning in combination with physical training, rather than a complete abandonment of physical training.

VOX-Pol Blog post.