Federal intelligence agencies and domestic law enforcement are circulating reports identifying “anti-technology extremists” as an emerging domestic threat category, according to over 1,000 pages of unpublished reports from DHS, FBI, and fusion centers obtained by WIRED.
This new focus follows President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memo 7, which instructs targeting of “anti-American,” “anti-Christian,” and “anti-capitalism” beliefs. A New York Intelligence Bureau report warns that AI adoption could fuel “large-scale protests that devolve into civil unrest and anti-tech violent extremist activity,” especially in major urban areas.
The reports also describe threats linked to extreme rationalists like Ziz Laota, whose ideology focused on existential AI risk. Meanwhile, 80 fusion centers across the country are gathering “intelligence” about alleged threats to data centers, flagging activities like photography and surveillance observation as suspicious.
Civil rights experts warn that overly broad categories like “anti-tech extremism” could ensnare peaceful protesters and AI skeptics, similar to the surveillance of Black Lives Matter and environmental movements in recent decades.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/05/us-law-enforcement-warns-of-anti-tech-extremism-as-ai-hatred-grows/