Algorithms and salad bars: Religious Rehabilitation Group studies impact of AI, tech on radicalisation

SINGAPORE – With technology accelerating radicalisation, the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) is building capabilities to understand how artificial intelligence and digital platforms affect individuals.

The voluntary organisation is studying the links between online behaviour and offline conduct, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam on June 2 at the RRG’s annual retreat at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa.

Shanmugam said the nature of threats has changed significantly since RRG was set up in the early 2000s, when its focus was on counselling detainees from Jemaah Islamiyah, the South-east Asian affiliate of Islamist militant organisation Al-Qaeda.

“Digital platforms have increased interactivity – the algorithms feed you. If you look at certain things, the algorithms keep feeding you more of the same stuff,” he said.

“Extremist content is now very directed. It’s very personalised, it’s very engaging, and it’s available (and) plentiful. So, it has accelerated the speed at which radicalisation happens.”

Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister, noted that the average time taken for an individual to be radicalised has decreased from two years to one, with some getting influenced in a matter of days.

“Now with artificial intelligence, these risks are increasing even more,” he added.

He highlighted two recent cases, including that of a 17-year-old youth who was detained in 2024, just a few weeks before he could carry out a knife attack against non-Muslims in Tampines.

He was issued a two-year order of detention.

Investigations showed he had used AI to prepare his attack manifesto and to generate a pledge of allegiance to militant group ISIS.

In another case, a youth who wanted to conduct a shooting attack at various mosques had considered 3D-printing his own firearms. He was issued an order of detention in 2025.

Besides the evolving technology, the world has also changed, said Shanmugam. The Middle East is far more unstable now compared with the early 2000s, with at least two ongoing wars and many divisions.

He said extremists use these conflicts to advance their propaganda, framing them along racial, religious and community lines.

Complex historical situations are broken down into “very simple emotional narratives, sound bites”.

The minister noted that since the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in October 2023, six Singaporeans have been detained or issued restriction orders under the Internal Security Act for supporting or making preparations to engage in armed violence in Gaza or Iran.

He also said there has been a rise of “salad bar” radicalisation, where individuals, particularly young people, select ideas from different extremist religious and non-religious ideologies.

Speaking to The Straits Times, RRG’s secretary, Ustaz Mohamed Feisal Mohamed Hassan, said the organisation has responded to various extremist threats over the years and sought to keep up with the times, including advances in technology.

On the AI front, he said RRG is engaging experts to understand the kind of threats that the technology poses to young people, and how it can be used by counsellors in their work.

This is done through seminars on AI and its capabilities.

One such talk was on AI-based radicalisation, which was conducted during the RRG retreat by Zora Sukabdi, a forensic psychologist who also works with radicalised individuals from Indonesia.

The retreat from June 1 to June 4 is for RRG members, including counsellors, religious teachers and mentors, with the theme “Building youth resilience against radicalisation”.

Speaking at the retreat, RRG’s co-chairman, Ustaz Mohamed Ali, said the theme was both timely and important as Singapore’s rapidly ageing population means that young people have become even more precious assets to be protected.

“This is against the backdrop where global societies are facing rapidly evolving security challenges. These challenges, including extremist ideologies, will spread and impact the young faster, deeper, and in more subtle ways than ever before,” he said.

“This is because much of these externalities thrive in the digital space, a popular and powerful playground for our youth.”

He added that RRG’s outreach and presence must occupy the same space as such externalities.

He also highlighted the organisation’s new WhatsApp channel, launched on May 14, which it will use to share religious reflections and reminders, educational content on religious concepts, and commentary on contemporary issues affecting the community.

Shanmugam said the RRG plays a critical role in Singapore’s approach to countering terrorism and violent extremism, highlighting that the organisation provides credible religious guidance and helps counter distorted interpretations of Islam.

RRG engages individuals directly, with empathy and understanding, and builds trust and friendship with those who have taken the wrong path, the minister said.

“You bring the credibility... (If) the Government tried doing it, it won’t have the credibility.”