On 7–8 November 2024, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) and the Institute of Security & Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University hosted a closed-door ‘Blue-Sky’ workshop in The Hague on the terrorist exploitation of artificial intelligence (AI), funded by the Netherlands’ National Coordinator for Security and Counter-Terrorism (NCTV). The workshop brought together 26 experts from academia, industry, law enforcement, computer science, and government across eleven countries to anticipate how terrorists and (violent) extremists may adapt to and exploit emerging AI technologies.
Using a ‘blue-sky’ approach, participants developed creative yet realistic scenarios to encourage proactive thinking about emerging threats and move beyond the traditionally reactive character of (counter-)terrorism studies. Across five thematic sessions, participants examined the potential exploitation of AI for operational purposes, including enhancing terrorist capabilities and facilitating weapons production; the misuse of decentralised and open-source AI systems to circumvent content moderation and access harmful information; and the lifecycle and trajectory of AI-generated extremist content online. Discussions also considered how emerging AI technologies could enable states to provide support to non-state actors, including terrorist and extremist groups and individuals, before exploring more speculative scenarios in which AI
could operate as a fully independent entity.
Drawing together insights from these discussions, participants identified key themes and assessed how terrorists are most likely to adapt to AI-powered technologies. This event summary presents the workshop’s principal findings and session-specific insights, offering forward-looking perspectives relevant to scholars, practitioners, and policymakers working at the intersection of terrorism, counter-terrorism, and AI.
Photo Credit: Jake Walker on Unsplash
