Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger Requests GAO Review of Threats Posed by AI-Enabled Terrorism

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting a comprehensive review of how violent extremists and malicious actors weaponize emerging technologies and applications.

In the letter, Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger raises concerns that adversaries are increasingly exploiting advanced AI tools to generate propaganda, spread misinformation, and accelerate online radicalization at an unprecedented scale and speed. He notes that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) enables extremists to produce targeted propaganda and recruitment materials at minimal costs, while agentic artificial intelligence (AAI) amplifies these efforts by executing harmful behaviors with minimal human involvement. Read more in Washington Post Intelligence's AI and Tech Brief.

In the letter, Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger writes, "As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly becomes a part of the everyday lives of Americans, so too do malicious actors seek to exploit emerging AI technologies and applications to pursue harmful, even deadly, agendas… Violent extremists and other illicit actors-including but not limited to insiders who pose threats and malicious cyber actors-will inevitably seek inventive ways to exploit these emerging technologies to support a wide range of terrorist tactics and other criminal activities."

Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger concludes, "The use of GenAI and AAI by violent extremists and other illicit actors poses a broad and evolving national security threat. The speed, scale, and adaptability these technologies enable will challenge the federal government's ability to detect, respond to, and deter terrorist activities; however, the nature and scope of the challenges associated with countering these AI-enabled threats are not well understood."

Read the full letter here.

BACKGROUND

In November 2025, the House of Representatives passed Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger's "Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act," which requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the U.S. posed by terrorist organizations utilizing GenAI applications for terroristic activity.

In March 2025, Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger held a hearing to examine how foreign terrorist organizations use the internet and emerging technology to inspire attacks in the homeland. Witnesses and Members discussed how America can protect the First Amendment while simultaneously preventing potential terrorist attacks, how content moderation should be done on a platform level, and how to best coordinate between federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Last year,Newsweek featured Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger in a piece underscoring the heightened terror threats stemming from terrorist groups, such as ISIS, as they increasingly embrace emerging technology like AI to recruit, fundraise, and inspire attacks against the homeland.

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