Australia Warns of AI-Powered Radicalisation and Crime

The Australian Federal Police and security officials revealed in a parliamentary inquiry that the country is facing a wave of youth crime due to artificial intelligence accelerating radicalisation processes.

Speaking at a hearing on Wednesday, Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Sandra Booth stated that the radicalisation process, which traditionally took months or years, has now been reduced to days thanks to intelligence technology. Booth emphasised that artificial intelligence lowers the threshold for manipulating and radicalising online victims, which could strain mental health, education and justice systems. During the hearing, an example was shared of a 13-year-old child using the Discord platform who was found to have a notebook containing school attack plans at home.

Assessments by Security Agencies

Claire McGuinness, Deputy Director-General for Asio Intelligence Service Delivery, stated that the intelligence agency is now dealing with much younger individuals, including children as young as 12, compared to 20 years ago. The inquiry shared information that since 2020, 65 children, the youngest being 12, have been the subject of federal police operations, with 35 of them charged with terrorism offenses. Brendan Dowling, the Department of Home Affairs Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, noted that while the nation has faced threats for a long time, the nature of the threat has changed, becoming more urgent and challenging than ever. It was reported that the parliamentary joint intelligence and security committee will present its final report in March.