The leader of a neo-Nazi group, Rinaldo Nazzaro, used ChatGPT to inquire about attacking the power grid, according to an intelligence briefing obtained by the Daily Dot. Nazzaro, also known online as Roman Wolf and Norman Spear, is the founder of the white supremacist and accelerationist paramilitary group known as “The Base.”
The briefing, sent out by the New York Police Department (NYPD) Intelligence & Counterterrorism Bureau on March 24, 2023, details the conversation between Nazzaro and ChatGPT. The discussion centered around creating a “power vacuum” in the U.S. and how to achieve it through a combination of tactics, including sabotage, targeted assassinations, and other forms of violence to disrupt the existing power structure.
ChatGPT responded by outlining a range of tactics, including guerrilla warfare, ambushes, and raids to disrupt the enemy’s operations and weaken their will to fight. The chatbot also emphasized the importance of gaining the local public’s trust when attempting to win a guerrilla war.
Nazzaro also asked ChatGPT about the most vulnerable critical infrastructure in the US to a physical attack, and the chatbot pointed to the electrical grid, noting its status as the backbone of the nation’s economy. ChatGPT suggested using propaganda and psychological warfare to weaken the public’s trust in the government and create a sense of chaos and uncertainty, as well as economic warfare to disrupt the local economy.
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Cassie Miller notes that Nazzaro’s actions with ChatGPT are in line with his previous rhetoric, which includes pushing the idea that the country will inevitably collapse and that the role of the movement is to accelerate that collapse through violence and attacks on infrastructure.
The official highlights the concerns around the use of technology by white supremacists and extremist groups, and notes that law enforcement agencies have arrested numerous members of The Base in the US and Europe in recent years.