Relearning soft power for the social-media era

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, Bill Wall discusses Accrete AI's comprehensive AI platform. The conversation explores the necessity for the U.S. to balance military focus with information strategies, diplomacy, and a deeper understanding of the populace to achieve success in modern conflicts.

Recording Date: 9 Dec 2025

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #56 Bob Jones on Governance
• Accrete AI
• Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
• LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media by P. W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking
• Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio:

Bill Wall is the CEO and Co-Founder of Accrete AI Government, an enterprise AI company helping government entities rapidly capture and analyze massive amounts of siloed data, providing analysts with deep insights that enable faster decision-making.

Bill has a unique background, combining elite military service and deep experience in the sales and implementation of innovative solutions that drive business transformation. In the private sector, Bill has built technology teams across various industries. His professional experience includes leadership roles at companies like EMC, Praescient Analytics, Boundless Geospatial, and Flywheel Data, where he focused on IT solutions, big data analytics, and geospatial software.

Before entering the corporate world, Bill retired from the Army as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel after twenty-two years in service. During his military career, he founded a computer network operations organization within the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen where he worked closely with the national intelligence community to transform the way intelligence was developed and shared.

Academically trained in international relations, Bill holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a Master of Arts in International Relations and Latin American Studies from the University of Miami. Beyond his professional achievements, he has been married to Francesca for 30 years and is a father to two sons, sharing his home with two dogs and a cat.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.