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House unanimously passes bill to crack down on terrorists using AI

Originally Published on November 20, 2025.

House lawmakers unanimously passed legislation Wednesday aimed at preventing terrorists from using generative artificial intelligence (AI) amid fears that the technology could help develop chemical, nuclear, and other advanced weapons.

The measure comes in response to ISIS and other terrorist groups using bleeding-edge generative AI technology to bolster their propaganda and sourcing of supplies to carry out brutal attacks.

Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who introduced the Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act, warned that as AI technology advances, the risks of terrorist groups using it to carry out sophisticated, bloody attacks grow.

“To confront this emerging threat and stop terrorist organizations from weaponizing AI to recruit, train, and inspire attacks on U.S. soil, I am proud that the House passed my Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act today,” Pfluger told The Post.

“I know how critical it is for our policies and capabilities to keep pace with the threats of tomorrow.”

Pfluger, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee’s subpanel on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, crafted the bill to require the Department of Homeland Security to conduct annual assessments on terrorist threats to the US from AI in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence.

Those assessments will detail how terrorist groups use AI to bolster their extremist messaging and recruitment, as well as the development of “chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.”

DHS will also be required to help formulate strategies to counter terrorist use of AI to carry out atrocities.

Last year, ISIS used AI-generated news anchors to spew propaganda about a terrorist attack on a concert hall just outside of Moscow.

The chilling videos showed deepfake anchors reading newscasts about the attack. The ordeal showcased how ISIS is increasingly turning to new technologies to boost its terrorist activities.

Pfluger’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence held a hearing to investigate terrorist use of generative AI, the nascent technology that produces text, images, software, and other types of content with minimal instructions from humans.

During that hearing, lawmakers learned how groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda held AI workshops and deployed AI to fabricate events and recruit acolytes through convincing propaganda.

“I spent two decades as a fighter pilot, flying combat missions in the Middle East against terrorist organizations,” Pfluger added. “Since then, I have witnessed the terror landscape evolve into a digital battlefield shaped by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.”