#226 James Giordano on Neurotechnology and Future Warfare
The Cognitive Crucible
Navigating Complexities in Military Strategy and Neurotechnology
This chapter explores the challenges and prospects that arise from shifts in military strategies, particularly through the lens of DARPA's Brain Initiative and its implications for neurotechnology in warfare. It also examines the Heilmeier Catechism as a tool for evaluating the risks and benefits associated with technological advancements.
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.
During this episode, Dr. James Giordano discusses a broad range of topics related to national security from biopsychology to complexity to neurotechnology to enactivism.
Recording Date: 25 Jun 2025
Research Question: James Giordano suggests an interested student or researcher examine: “How might the convergence of neurotech, big data, and AI lead to improved human and multinational relations, and in these ways, contribute to avoiding conflict and warfare?”
Resources:
- Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
- James Giordano NDU Website
- Enactivism
- Architectonics
- Heilmeier Catechism
- N3: Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology
- Bioethics and Brains, published by MIT Press, which I co-authored with my longtime colleague Dr John Shook
- Neuroscience, Neuroculture and Neuroethics, published by Springer, which I co-authored with John Shook and Dr Roland Benedikter
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio:
Dr. James Giordano is the Director of the Center for Disruptive Technologies and Future Warfare of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He is Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Neurology and Biochemistry, and Senior Scholar Emeritus of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics of Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. Dr. Giordano has served as Senior Scientific Advisory Fellow of the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Branch of the Joint Staff, Pentagon; Senior Bioethicist of the Defense Medical Ethics Center; Distinguished Fellow in Science, Technology and Ethics of the Stockdale Center for Ethics at the United States Naval Academy; and as an appointed member of the Neuroethics, Legal and Social Advisory Panel of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), and an appointed member of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Human Research Protections. Dr Giordano is internationally recognized for his research on the use – and ethical guidance and governance - of neurocognitive sciences and technology in military, intelligence and global security operations
A widely published author of over 350 peer-reviewed papers in the international scientific literature, 25 governmental reports, 37 book chapters, and 10 books - which most recently include Bioethics and Brains; Neuroscience, Neuroculture and Neuroethics; and Neurotechnology in National Security and Defense: Technical Considerations, Neuroethical Concerns.
Dr. Giordano is a former Fulbright Fellow; an elected Fellow of the Hastings Center for Ethics; the European Academy of Science and Arts; and the Royal Society of Medicine (UK); and frequently lectures in German and Italian. A former United States Naval officer, he was winged as a Naval Aerospace Physiologist, co-designated as a Research Physiologist and Psychologist, and served with US Navy and US Marine Corps.
About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.
For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org.
Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.
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