Rand Waltzman, an Adjunct Senior Information Scientist at the RAND Corporation with 40 years of experience in AI, dives deep into the nuances of disinformation. He introduces the Disinformation 101 series, aimed at empowering individuals against false narratives. The discussion highlights tactics of disinformation, including cognitive denial of service, and underscores the need for critical thinking. Waltzman emphasizes individual responsibility in combating misinformation and the complexities of conspiracy beliefs, advocating for a proactive approach in the digital age.
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Individual Responsibility in Disinformation
Individuals must take responsibility for navigating the information environment.
Governments and other entities cannot provide sufficient protection.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Understanding Disinformation Tactics
Understand how disinformation attacks work to better recognize them.
The Disinformation 101 series offers insights from the attacker's perspective.
insights INSIGHT
Cognitive vs. Technical Attacks
Cognitive attacks exploit human psychology, not computer systems.
Unlike technical attacks, there are no reliable automated tools to detect them.
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In 'On Bullshit', Harry G. Frankfurt argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not by deliberately making false claims, but by conveying a certain impression without concern for whether anything is true. He distinguishes bullshitting from lying, noting that liars at least acknowledge the importance of truth, whereas bullshitters disregard it entirely. Frankfurt contends that excessive indulgence in bullshit can undermine the capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not, making bullshit a greater enemy of truth than lies. The book explores the prevalence of bullshit in modern society and its implications for communication and truth[1][3][5].
The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters is a Christian apologetic novel written in a satirical, epistolary style. It consists of 31 letters from Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to 'Our Father Below' (the Devil), to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon tasked with securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The letters provide advice on various methods of undermining God's influence and promoting abandonment of God, while offering insights into human nature and the Bible. The book is a profound and striking narrative on spiritual warfare and the power of the devil, highlighting the subtle forms of sin such as vanity, pride, and distraction that can lead humans away from God[1][3][4].
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, Rand Waltzman returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss his famous Disinformation 101 series.
Guest Bio: Dr. Rand Waltzman has 40 years of experience performing and managing research in Artificial Intelligence applied to domains including social media and cognitive security in the information environment. He is former Deputy Chief Technology Officer and currently an Adjunct Senior Information Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA. He is also a founding board member of the Information Professionals Association.
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.
The Cognitive Crucible 
