HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF COUNTER-TERRORISM AGENCIES
Session IV: Strategic Capacity Building Responses: Countering Misuse of AI and Emerging Technologies
Statement by H.E Mr. James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
30 June 2026
Thank you Excellencies,
Critical technologies are reshaping the globe and transforming how our societies function, in ways that are difficult to predict.
While technology and AI offer transformative benefits, they also introduce parallel risks, expanding the threat landscape at a pace that challenges our traditional responses to terrorism.
We must keep pace while building resilience against the exploitation of technologies by those who seek to do harm.
I will highlight three priority areas for our collective response.
First, we must understand how emerging technologies are being misused.
Generative AI is enabling the rapid production of extremist propaganda in multiple languages.
Social media is amplifying grievance narratives, eroding trust in institutions, spreading hate and creating a permissive environment for violence.
Encrypted applications, gaming platforms, and AI-assisted tools are enabling more targeted recruitment and radicalisation – particularly of young people.
As co-chair of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum’s Countering Violent Extremism Working Group with Indonesia, Australia is prioritising efforts to counter youth radicalisation on new platforms.
Second, we must strengthen prevention.
With the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, Australia is supporting the Building Safer Online Gaming Communities initiative.
This program equips young gamers and moderators in Southeast Asia with tools to prevent exploitation of gaming platforms and promote safer online environments.
Third, we must continue to promote strong and effective national policy responses.
This includes Australia’s world-leading under-16 social media laws placing responsibility on platforms to protect users at a critical stage of their development.
These are supported by our strong legislative and regulatory framework. The Online Safety Act 2021, empowers the eSafety Commissioner to address and remove harmful content, including terrorism-related material.
Regulation alone is not enough. Australia also promotes Safety by Design, encouraging technology companies and developers to embed safeguards against misuse from the earliest stages of AI development.
Across all efforts, we remain committed to upholding international law, including human rights.
Effective counter-terrorism responses must not only protect our security, they must also safeguard the values that underpin it.
Excellencies,
The misuse of AI and emerging technologies is present and an accelerating threat.
We must act collectively to share expertise and build capacity to ensure these technologies are used for good, not harm.
Thank you.