specialists worked side-by-side with the tools, consulting the chatbot in direct support of technical work, as in the recounted case of a bombmaker who iteratively refined new device designs with AI, returning to the laptop for troubleshooting when something was not working or needed clarification.

Regarding the first usage, both factions seize a significant part of their weaponry, military equipment, and ammunition from the Nigerian military. Struggling to operate some of the loot, ISWAP’s leader al-Barnawi stated in a letter to the Islamic State back in 2017: “I am reminded of a funny story when about a year ago, we seized Dragunov rifles as war spoils and we had to make them work so we could use them. We checked many handbooks and specialized videos on this technical issue, but we eventually dropped it in despair after all our attempts failed.”88 This account contrasts with how these situations are handled and resolved today, where “we take all of the equipment back to the camp and the AI unit tells us how to use and shoot with it.”

Perhaps not surprising that it performs well on these sorts of tasks, despite what they say the military is a big buyer…