Experts warn of new terrorism threats from AI, drones

Semafor · collected 2026-09-15 · by Brendan Ruberry
Read the original at Semafor ↗

Summary

Analysts warn that while the global jihadi movement no longer possesses the capability to conduct large-scale attacks like those of September 11th, twenty-five years later, new technological threats such as AI and drones pose significant dangers. In an article for Foreign Policy, experts argue these technologies can be misused by terrorists, citing examples where AI has been used to plan attacks in the US and noting a gap between drone capabilities and current security measures.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
3
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 3 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
94.9
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story summary

Experts are cautioning that 25 years after the September 11 attacks, terrorist threats have evolved with new technologies such as AI, encrypted messaging platforms, and drones. These tools can amplify the capabilities of terrorists, similar to how technological innovations were misused by al-Qaeda before 9/11. For instance, AI has already been utilized in plotting deadly attacks on US soil, while the disparity between the drone threat and current countermeasures remains a significant issue, according to analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations. While the global jihadi movement is currently fragmented, the misuse of advanced technologies poses equally dangerous risks for societies worldwide.

Written for “AI Drones Terror Threats” on 2026-09-17, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Score -0.35 Confidence high
Leaning score -0.35 for article 10515 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-15

Story

📰 AI Drones Terror Threats
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event. This is the one the site leads with.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Next 9/11 terror attack might be planned where we’re not looking, UK spy chief warns different event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 17% hedged 2 of 12 📰 publisher trust 59
“The articles discuss related themes of terrorism threats but describe different specific events and timelines, with Article A reporting a public statement by Britain's MI5 chief on September 11th and Article B analyzing broader expert opinions published later.”
AI Is a Test of Our Maturity. *Gulp* different event · 95%
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 8% hedged 8 of 99
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI concerns but do not describe the same specific incident.”
The Dangerous Ideology Behind the AI Warnings different event · 95%
The Free Press
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 20% hedged 3 of 15 📰 publisher trust 96
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI risks without describing the same specific incident.”
Democrats’ AI warnings: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 16, 2026 different event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 31 📰 publisher trust 59
“Article A discusses expert warnings about terrorism threats from AI and drones, while Article B is a collection of letters to the editor regarding political concerns over AI regulation.”
Artificial audacity different event · 95%
Dawn
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 5 of 27 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI risks and governance; Article A focuses on terrorism threats from AI, while Article B mocks Trump's view on AI control.”
Anatomy of an AI-powered hack different event · 90%
Semafor
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 3 of 30 📰 publisher trust 95
“Article A discusses a general warning about terrorism threats from advanced technologies like AI and drones, while Article B reports on a specific incident where an AI-powered hack was used to breach a European company.”

Publisher

Semafor · 356 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Brendan Ruberry
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Topics

Council on Foreign Relations the 9/11 Commission Report

Subjects

Council on Foreign Relations ORG · 1×

Narrative

Much as the 9/11 Commission Report lamented the “failure of imagination” preceding the attacks, the West today should consider how its “innovations are continuously misused by terrorists against it,” experts argued in Foreign Policy, adding that AI, encrypted messaging platforms, and drones “can serve as force multipliers” for bad actors.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
2026-09-15 · Semafor
Experts warn of new terrorism threats from AI, drones · assertive framing

Claims (3 extracted, 0 hedged)

The global jihadi movement is fractured 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks and lacks the capacity to launch similarly sophisticated operations, analysts said, but societies face equally dangerous terrorist threats today from advanced technologies. asserted
societies → fracture → technologies
Much as the 9/11 Commission Report lamented the “failure of imagination” preceding the attacks, the West today should consider how its “innovations are continuously misused by terrorists against it,” experts argued in Foreign Policy, adding that AI, encrypted messaging platforms, and drones “can serve as force multipliers” for bad actors. asserted
AI → lament → actors
AI has already been used to plan deadly attacks on US soil, and the “gap between the drone threat and the response is significant and… remains unaddressed,” Council on Foreign Relations experts warned. asserted
experts → use → Relations
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