Novara Media Do Your Own Research: From the Bible to ChatBots: A History of Psyops w/ Trevor Paglen
18 snips
Jun 6, 2026 
Trevor Paglen, artist-researcher who maps surveillance, military secrecy and image politics, guides a tour through psyops history. He traces MKUltra and UFO disinformation, links stage magic to modern manipulative media, and warns how neuroscience, brain interfaces and AI can turn images into tools of control. Short, sharp scenes on prediction, adversarial attacks and why truth gets destabilized.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Neural Models Predict Brain States Directly
- Neural prediction models are moving from behavioral proxies to directly predicting brain states using fMRI data, shortening the gap between stimulus and cognitive response.
- Trevor Paglen cites Meta's Tribe V2 as a scaled neuroscience model that predicts brain responses to images, text, or sound.
Book Triggered Airport Security Scan
- Trevor Paglen recounts airport staff pulling his book from x‑ray as a suspicious item, highlighting public paranoia around media about manipulation.
- The scanner singled out his copy of How to See a Machine, prompting a baggage check and questions about its contents.
Neural Data Replaces Behavioral Proxies
- Models trained on neurological data cut out behavioral middlemen like click patterns, enabling direct targeting of pre-conscious brain processes.
- Paglen contrasts Tribe V2's neural-data basis with TikTok's behavioral proxies such as dwell time and clicks.
