Two of the world's most enduring extremist movements are reaching for the same technological instrument, yet their hands move at different speeds and with different intentions. Since at least 2023, both the Islamic State and al-Qaida have integrated artificial intelligence into propaganda, recruitment, and operational planning — not as an invention of new violence, but as an accelerant of old ambitions. What separates them is not capability but philosophy: one group asks what AI can do today, while the other asks what it means for the long arc of war itself.
Al-Qaida and ISIS adopt AI differently, reflecting divergent war strategies
The article references a March 2024 Moscow concert hall attack killing over 130 people and a November 2025 Delhi car bombing killing 11 people, both celebrated or allegedly connected to these terrorist groups.