AI, digital platforms super-charging terrorist capabilities: UN Chief Antonio Guterres

UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm on Monday against emerging technologies "super-charging" terrorism and said better cooperation among countries can "close critical gaps".

He said that in South Asia, "affiliates of Al-Qaida and Da'esh [Islamic State terror outfit] and other terrorist groups persist", as also in Africa and the Middle East, in threatening nations and people.

"Violent extremist narratives, including those based on xenophobia, racism, and other forms of intolerance, or in the name of religion or belief, pose deadly domestic threats in many nations," he said.

Issuing his warning about the growing threat, he said terrorists have grown adept at exploiting emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and unmanned weapons.

"These tools have supercharged their ability to recruit, finance, and plan attacks," he said.

But he also noted that technology offers powerful tools to detect threats early, stop the flow of illicit assets, and understand pathways to terrorist radicalisation.

He reminded the nations gathered for the Fourth United Nations High-level Conference on Counter-Terrorism that they had "made a commitment to harness digital tools for the public good" when they adopted the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact in 2024 to enable the UN to address emerging challenges.

Guterres said that broader dangers facing the world are creating an environment conducive for terrorists to spread their tentacles, and these have to be dealt with, beyond conventional direct tactics to tackle terrorism.

"We meet at a moment of acute instability," he said. "Conflicts are triggering energy shocks, inflation and hunger across the globe. Temperatures are rising. Millions are displaced. And millions more face growing economic hardship."

"These conditions -- of want, of fragility, of mistrust -- are ideal circumstances for terror to thrive," he said.

But he emphasised that these wrongs do not justify terrorism and nothing can.

"We must address the conditions and grievances that allow terrorism to take root," he said. (IANS)

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