In a severe warning about the effects of social media on the radicalisation of young people, ASIO’s Director-General, Mike Burgess, has raised concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) may “accelerate the acceleration” of extremism.
According to the source from ABC Australia claims.
At a summit focused on the harmful impacts of online platforms on youth, he explained how social media and digital technologies contribute to national security threats.
Mr Burgess emphasised that this issue is particularly urgent for policymakers concerned about education and child safety.
He noted that all recent terror cases in Australia allegedly involved young people, including one as young as 14.
He stated, “The internet was a factor in every single one of these incidents, albeit to different degrees and in different ways.”
He mentioned that during the peak of COVID-19, teenagers made up about 50% of ASIO’s counter-terrorism cases, a figure that decreased but has since risen again.
“Around 20 per cent of our priority counter-terrorism cases involve minors,” he said, adding that society has allowed children unrestricted access to online content that they would not be able to access in the real world.
Mr Burgess pointed out that when ASIO gets involved in cases of youth extremism, it usually means it is “too late” for preventive measures.
While he expressed reluctance to engage in social media regulation, preferring to focus on national security concerns, he confirmed that ASIO is working with other security partners on a report about terrorism and young people.
He stressed that any proposals to regulate social media must balance free speech, personal choice, and the free market, and he called for more research on the topic. Social media must have a “social licence,” he asserted.
Mr Burgess highlighted AI as an increasing concern, saying there is a significant gap between its current capabilities and the claims made by its supporters.
He warned that terrorists and foreign powers could use AI for harmful purposes.
“We are already seeing extremists experimenting with AI, and they will likely use it to improve their recruitment efforts on social media.”
He added that companies developing powerful social media algorithms should also be able to use AI to better identify and remove extremist content, mainly when it targets children.
The summit, organised by the South Australian and New South Wales governments, was part of efforts to impose age restrictions on social media use.
Mr Burgess noted that children are accessing various types of extremist content, including “violent misogynist ideology” and “incel material.”
He warned that if a user spends just ten minutes looking at incel content, the algorithm will start recommending more violent propaganda, including the glorification of incel terrorists.
He provided another example, stating that it takes only “two clicks” to move from a page advocating a “hard-line religious interpretation” to a Telegram network that is “explicitly pro-ISIL,” containing propaganda videos and messages supporting Australian terrorists.
In an earlier address to the National Press Club, Mr Burgess revealed that security agencies were aware of Australians communicating with extremists overseas about starting a race war.
At the summit, he reiterated this concern, explaining that changes in technology since the peak threat from Islamic State and al-Qaeda mean that individuals can be radicalised online.
“Now, individuals can self-radicalise, and this process can happen in days or weeks instead of months or years,” he said.
He also mentioned that people share content on social media, which acts as a gateway to darker parts of the internet, like a Telegram chat room called ‘Terrorgram,’ where violent extremists, including Australians, are communicating with foreign extremists.