Latest news with #violentextremism
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
AI chatbot ‘MechaHitler' could be making content considered violent extremism, expert witness tells X v eSafety case
The chatbot embedded in Elon Musk's X that referred to itself as 'MechaHitler' and made antisemitic comments last week could be considered terrorism or violent extremism content, an Australian tribunal has heard. But an expert witness for X has argued a large language model cannot be ascribed intent, only the user. xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence firm, last week apologised for the comments made by its Grok chatbot over a 16-hour period, which it attributed to 'deprecated code' that made Grok susceptible to existing X user posts, 'including when such posts contained extremist views'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The outburst came into focus at an administrative review tribunal hearing on Tuesday where X is challenging a notice issued by the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, in March last year asking the platform to explain how it is taking action against terrorism and violent extremism (TVE) material. X's expert witness, RMIT economics professor Chris Berg, provided evidence to the case that it was an error to assume a large language model can produce such content, because it is the intent of the user prompting the large language model that is critical in defining what can be considered terrorism and violent extremism content. One of eSafety's expert witnesses, Queensland University of Technology law professor Nicolas Suzor, disagreed with Berg, stating it was 'absolutely possible for chatbots, generative AI and other tools to have some role in producing so-called synthetic TVE'. 'This week has been quite full of them, with X's chatbot Grok producing [content that] fits within the definitions of TVE,' Suzor said. He said the development of AI has human influence 'all the way down' where you can find intent, including Musk's actions to change the way Grok was responding to queries to 'stop being woke'. The tribunal heard that X believes the use of its Community Notes feature (where users can contribute to factchecking a post on the site) and Grok's Analyse feature (where it provides context on a post) can detect or address TVE. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Both Suzor and fellow eSafety expert witness Josh Roose, a Deakin University associate professor of politics, told the hearing that it was contested as to whether Community Notes was useful in this regard. Roose said TVE required users to report the content to X, which went into a 'black box' for the company to investigate, and often only a small amount of material was removed and a small number of accounts banned. Suzor said that after the events of last week, it was hard to view Grok as 'truth seeking' in its responses. 'It's uncontroversial to say that Grok is not maximalising truth or truth seeking. I say that particularly given the events of last week I would just not trust Grok at all,' he said. Berg argued that the Grok Analyse feature on X had not been updated with the features that caused the platform's chatbot to make the responses it did last week, but admitted the chatbot that users respond to directly on X had 'gone a bit off the rails' by sharing hate speech content and 'just very bizarre content'. Suzor said Grok had been changed not to maximise truth seeking but 'to ensure responses are more in line with Musk's ideological view'. Earlier in the hearing, lawyers for X accused eSafety of attempting to turn the hearing 'into a royal commission into certain aspects of X', after Musk's comment referring to Inman Grant as a 'commissar' was brought up in the cross-examination of an X employee about meetings held with X prior to the notice being issued. The government's barrister, Stephen Lloyd, argued X was trying to argue that eSafety was being 'unduly adversarial' in its dealings with X, and that X broke off negotiations at a critical point before the notice was issued. He said the 'aggressive approach' came from X's leadership. The hearing continues.
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
CTV National News: Why experts are not surprised by extremism in the military
Watch Studies in Canada suggest violent extremism is lurking in the military, using social media to actively recruit soldiers. Heather Wright explains.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
20 years on, the terrorist threat is as great as ever
On July 6 2005, I joined colleagues on the balcony of our office building overlooking St James's Park to see the Red Arrows streak past in a trail of red, white and blue in celebration of London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics. Less than 24 hours later, a parallel universe enveloped the capital in a sea of blood and chaos. In the two decades since that day of infamy, how has the threat of violent extremism changed? Are we now equal to its challenge? The suicide bombers who caused carnage on public transport above and beneath the streets of London were acting in the name of al-Qaeda (AQ), the dominant Islamist terror franchise of the day. Fifty-two people were murdered and 700 injured in a co-ordinated attack involving four bombs packed with shrapnel, detonated at four locations. The logistics involved and the prior movements of two of the bombers suggest a high degree of training most experts agree was enabled by senior AQ assets in Pakistan. The motivation for the attack was to influence British foreign policy to force a withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. The threat we face two decades on has arguably mutated to something even greater. Organised group attacks can be devastating but they are also relatively easy to detect. Another co-ordinated bomb attack narrowly failed on July 21 that year, with heightened panic leading to the tragic death of innocent Jean Charles de Menezes. Public co-operation led to the perpetrators being swiftly arrested. Two other multi-handed plots in 2006 and 2007 were successfully stopped. The next decade saw the terrorist threat from Islamists mutate from one with an ostensible foreign policy objective and external support to home-grown radicalised terrorists acting for Islamic State (IS) whose objectives were global jihad and the creation of a worldwide Caliphate. Attacks became more frequent and less sophisticated. Many more of the perpetrators involved had criminal backgrounds and psychological impairments. Ideological strikes in iconic locations by dedicated groups had devolved into lone actor attacks using vehicles and knives involving deeply inadequate perpetrators animated by online grievance and conspiracy theories. While the attacks and plots of 7/7 and those intercepted afterwards always had murder in mind, there was at least some recognisable rationale behind the attacks. Today's Islamist extremist is motivated only by how high he can make the body count before being martyred in a 'divine' cause. Althought the vast majority of terrorist attacks since 7/7 have been carried out by Islamists and they remain the overwhelming threat to our security, the extreme Right has been growing in potency. However, the state's cack-handed and plainly ludicrous insistence that the risks posed by these groups is somehow equivalent to Islamist terror plays into the very grievance narratives that fuels a broader and more complex challenge than was the case in 2005. We now have a networked and 'always on' terrorist threat enabled and amplified by online communication still in infancy at the time of 7/7. The internet connects, inspires and mobilises today's lone actor terrorist. Moreover, the West has seen a collapse in morale and collective identity in part resulting from the stealthy infiltration of the state and its organs by Islamist-adjacent groups and supporters. Don't take my word for it. Hizb ut-Tahrir (HbT), a hugely influential global Islamist organisation, has a three-stage strategy to establish a caliphate, including penetration into government positions and military special forces to build public opinion. HbT was proscribed here in January 2024 because of the violent anti-Semitism it stirred up in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Today's terrorist threat is more diverse and unpredictable than in 2005. Our resilience against violent extremism is hollowed out by institutional timidity. We still face tactical, technical and operational obstacles hampering disaster response. While Islamist extremism is supported by a tiny fraction of Muslims, virulent anti-Semitism has taken hold within and animates hatreds, the precursor for domestic terrorism, from events thousands of miles away. These challenges require a strong response, putting country before political calculation or progressive distractions. In remembering the innocent lives sundered by terrorists on that awful July day, two decades on, we owe their brutally foreshortened lives a debt that is far from being repaid.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Southport attacks inquiry: First public hearing dates announced
Public hearings at the Southport knife attacks inquiry will begin on 8 July, it has been Rudakubana,18, was jailed in January for a minimum of 52 years after he was convicted of murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in the Merseyside town on 29 July Secretary Yvette Cooper announced in April that she had appointed former Court of Appeal vice-president Sir Adrian Fulford to chair the public two-phase review will first look at policing, the criminal justice system and the agencies that were involved with Rudakubana. It will then examine the wider issue of young people being drawn into violent extremism. The Liverpool Town Hall hearings will begin with Sir Adrian's opening statement at 14:00 from four families whose children were injured in the knife attacks will be heard the following day. Sir Adrian previously presided over the 2021 trial of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens - who was sentenced to a whole-life tariff for the murder of Sarah Everard. Cooper said: "Sir Adrian Fulford will bring a wealth of legal and criminal justice expertise to this role, and I am pleased he has agreed to chair the inquiry."The home secretary said she hoped the public inquiry would "provide insights into any failings that allowed a young man with a previous history of violence to commit this horrendous attack".Cooper described "the brutal murder of three young girls" as an "unimaginable tragedy"."We owe it to their families - and all those affected on that terrible day - to quickly understand what went wrong, answer difficult questions and do everything in our power to prevent something like this from happening again", she said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Zawya
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Statement by Acting African Union (AU) Special Representative on Somalia's Independence Day
The African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) congratulates the Federal Government and the people of Somalia on the occasion of the 65th Independence Day. Today's independence commemoration provides an opportunity to reflect and celebrate the tremendous milestones achieved by Somalia in its quest for lasting peace and stability. The progress made so far is a testament to the resilience and determination of the Somali people. On this special day, I pay tribute to the brave and gallant Somali Security Forces, whose tireless efforts against violent extremism are yielding positive results. Their selfless actions on the frontline have restored hope and strengthened belief in Somalia's journey to prosperity. Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia is not only contributing to humanity but also progressively reclaiming its position in the international community. AUSSOM reaffirms its unwavering support for Somalia's ongoing peace and stabilisation efforts. As you celebrate this day, your resilience and steadfast determination remain a key inspiration to Somalia's continued growth and prosperity. Happy Independence Day! Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
