The Cognitive Crucible

During this episode, we talk with Prof. Kathleen Carley of Carnegie Mellon University about social cybersecurity, the BEND framework, and the challenges and promise of developing understandings and technologies on how to manage the safety of online discourse. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Kathleen M. Carley is a professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard and her undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the director of the Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS), a university-wide interdisciplinary center that brings together network analysis, computer science, and organization science and she is the founding director of the Center for Informed Democracy and Social-cybersecurity (IDeaS), CMU’s university wide center for disinformation, hate-speech and extremism online. She is also the CEO of Netanomics. Kathleen M. Carley's research combines cognitive science, social networks and computer science to address complex social and organizational problems. Her specific research areas are dynamic network analysis, computational social and organization theory, adaptation and evolution, text mining, social media, information diffusion, disaster response and social-cybersecurity. She and her groups have developed infrastructure tools for analyzing large scale dynamic networks and various multi-agent simulation systems. The infrastructure tools include ORA, a statistical toolkit for analyzing and visualizing high-dimensional networks across time and space. ORA-PRO contains the BEND analytics. AutoMap, a text-mining system for extracting semantic networks, and high dimensional networks. NetMapper, a text-mining tool for extracting semantic networks, high dimensional networks, sentiment and subconscious CUES from texts and social media.  Construct, an agent-based dynamic-network simulation system for examining information diffusion and belief formation in various social, organizational and media environments. She is the founding co-editor of the journal Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory which she now co-edits with Dr. Terrill Frantz. She has co-edited several books in the computational organizations and dynamic network area and over 400 published papers. 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.

During this thought provoking episode, Mr. Bob Jones asserts that governance is a critical and often overlooked source of destabilizing tensions within societies. Simultaneously, governance is the solution for managing irregular warfare. Our discussion centers around a recent article that Bob authored called: “Strategic Influence: Applying the Principles of Unconventional Warfare in Peace.” Bob reviews his framework which helps visualize how governance affects populations (see show notes link or article for the diagram itself). Additionally, we discuss irregular warfare as a continuum which includes revolution-democracy-tyranny, the imperative for the United States to remain as the leader of the international rules-based system, and the critical feedback he has received from various national security stakeholders. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Mr. Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel; a former Deputy District Attorney; a Fellow with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), and the Senior Strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command.  Currently serving as a member of the SOCOM J5 Donovan Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and understanding how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as competition, the character of conflict, deterrence and societal stability. Mr. Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel; a former Deputy District Attorney; and the Senior Strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command.  Currently serving as a member of the SOCOM J5 Donovan Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and understanding how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as competition, the character of conflict, deterrence and societal stability. Mr. Jones’s principle focus is on the fundamental human aspects of political conflict. In a rapidly evolving strategic environment, good strategy is rooted in understanding what remains constant and why; while good tactics demands a realistic appreciation for what is different or changed. Successful campaigning demands a fusion of the two. He enjoys “wire brushing” concepts by routinely standing in front of tough audiences.  None of these is tougher than those he faces in his role as a fixture in the Joint Special Operations University’s Enlisted Academy, applying a commonsense perspective to bring our most experienced Special Operators strategic insights they can actually use. This is also the third consecutive year that Mr. Jones has addressed the Air War College class during the Operational Design phase of their curriculum, sharing practical insights gleaned from his experiences. He has been a featured speaker at Universities as storied as Oxford, St Andrews, Stanford and Harvard; and has led professional development events with operational units across the SOCOM enterprise. Mr. Jones is also a Fellow with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS). 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.

During this episode, Mr. Harrison Schramm of Group W discusses information-related challenges formed by artificial intelligence, supply chains, and data science talent. Our wide-ranging discussion touches upon AI and ethics, life and death decision making, and immigration. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Mr. Harrison Schramm is a principal research scientist at Group W, and works at the intersection of data, models and policy. After a 20 year career in the US Navy where he served as both a helicopter pilot and operations analyst, he entered practice as a professional statistician. He's been active in this community, where he has served as vice president of the Military Operations Research Society (MORS), and is the recipient of the Clayton Thomas prize for contributions to the profession. Of note, he chaired the inaugural INFORMS Conference on Security in February of this year. He enjoys professional accreditation from INFORMS, American Statistical Association, and the Royal (UK) Statistical Society.  He is President of the Analytics Society of INFORMS. 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.

During this episode, RADM Steve Parode discusses a variety of information-related topics including the Cold War peace dividend, the Tri-service Maritime Strategy, the Joint Concept of Information Advantage, cognitive preparation of the battlefield, information PTSD, and Information Technology – Operational Technology (IT-OT) convergence, plus more. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Rear Adm. Steve Parode retired recently from the United States Navy after 35 years in uniform. His last assignment was with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations where he was the Director of the Warfare Integration Directorate. Other assignments included service with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence as the deputy director for Information Operations, also as the director of intelligence (J2) for U.S. Strategic Command, and as deputy chief of Computer Network Operations (X43) at the National Security Agency. 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.

Mr Clint Watts joins the Cognitive Crucible and gives an FBI-perspective on domestic extremism. The conversation references a recent article on Clint’s Selected Wisdom substack: Virtual Insanity to Real World Calamity: “How Will Lies Power Domestic Terrorism in 2021?” Clint asserts that domestic terrorist groups are far from homogeneous. Particularly worrisome are young, largely single, largely male, “stochastic haters” who tend to be committed to violence and are accelerating destabilizing trajectories. Clint unpacks the landscape, discusses hard trade-offs between security and privacy, and provides some policy recommendations. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Clint Watts is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He previously was an infantry officer in the United States Army, and was the Executive Officer of the Combating Terrorism Center at United States Military Academy at West Point. Additionally, he was a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He’s also the author of: “Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News.” A Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Non-Resident Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy. Also a national security contributor for NBC News and MSNBC. Recently examined the rise of social media influence by publishing my first book entitled Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News. His research and writing focuses on terrorism, counterterrorism, social media influence and Russian disinformation. Clint’s tracking of terrorist foreign fighters allowed him to predict the rise of the Islamic State over al Qaeda in 2014. From 2014 – 2016, Clint worked with a team to track and model the rise of Russian influence operations via social media leading up to the U.S. Presidential election of 2016. 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.

During this episode, CDR Erika Gelen and Prof. Frank Smith discuss their co-authored article: “Advantage At Sea Requires Rethinking Influence.” After reviewing the tri-service (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard) strategy “Advantage at Sea,” they make the case that the US Navy handicaps itself in great-power competition--especially relative to military information support operations (MISO). They also have some concrete recommendations for senior leaders regarding competition. To get onto the weekly GHOST POST email distribution, contact US Army COL David Acosta at: david.a.acosta.mil {at} mail [...dot...] mil  Links to full show notes Guest Bios Dr. Frank Smith is the director of the Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute (or CIPI), part of the Strategic and Operational Research Department in the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the U.S. Naval War College. Smith was previously a senior lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. His interdisciplinary research examines the relationship between emerging technology and national security, particularly in cyberspace. He has a Ph.D. in political science and a B.S. in biological chemistry, both from the University of Chicago. Cmdr Erika De La Parra Gehlen is a student in the Cyber & Innovation Policy Institute (CIPI) Gravely program at the U.S. Naval War College. She is an active-duty judge advocate in the U.S. Navy and, most recently, the legal advisor to Special Operations Command, Pacific. Her expertise in national security law ranges from counter-terrorism to information operations. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Whittier College School of Law. About IPA 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.

In this bonus episode, we replay an excerpt from Dr. Michael Vickers' Phoenix Challenge 2021 Keynote address. Dr. Vickers is the former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. He spoke about the growing criticality of Information Operations and the ways in which our adversaries in great power competition have learned to use our openness, values, and our own technologies against Western democracies. Here is more information about the 2021 Phoenix Challenge Conference as well as the agenda. All of the Phoenix Challenge videos, as well as the detailed conference report are available for IPA members. If you're not a member, why not join now? 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.

During this episode, Dr. David Gioe discusses active measures. Active measures is a term which gained increasing public attention following the 2016 US election meddling by Russia. Dr. Gioe defines active measures as nation state actions which are intended to remain non-attributable. Also known as the “dark arts,” active measures are not new. Dr. Gioe recounts some historical active measures examples, discusses implications for the West going forward, and suggests a strategy for citizens to navigate the growing fake news problem. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Dr. David Gioe is Associate Professor of History at the US Military Academy at West Point, where he also serves as History Fellow for the Army Cyber Institute. David is also Director of Studies for the Cambridge Security Initiative and co-convener of its International Security and Intelligence program. He holds advanced degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Cambridge. His scholarship and analysis has appeared in numerous outlets. Before starting his academic career, David was an intelligence officer, beginning with appointment in 2001 as a Presidential Management Fellow in the FBI National Security Division with responsibility for economic espionage cases and later counterterrorism. In 2003 he transferred to CIA as a counterterrorism analyst in the DCI’s Counterterrorist Center (CTC) before earning field tradecraft certification. He served multiple overseas tours as an operations officer in the Middle East and Europe. He retains his commission as a Commander in the Navy Reserve and is assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Defense Attaché Service. In 2015 he deployed as the Director for Human Intelligence and Counterintelligence for the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. Other Navy assignments include service as a Division Officer in the Office of Naval Intelligence and as a Department Head in the Joint Analysis Center, RAF Molesworth, UK. He is currently Visiting Professor of Intelligence and International Security in the King's College London Department of War Studies. 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.

During this episode, Matt Armstong, who was formerly a Governor on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (since renamed the U.S. Agency for Global Media), discusses the Smith-Mundt Act and public diplomacy. Matt is also the author of the upcoming book: The Right to Know: the War of Words and the Origins and Evolution of the Smith-Mundt Act. Also known as the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, Smith-Mundt was developed to regulate broadcasting of programs for foreign audiences produced under guidance by the State Department, and it prohibited domestic dissemination of materials produced by such programs. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 allowed for materials produced by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for Global Media to be disseminated within the United States. Matt makes the case that, ironically, there is a significant amount of disinformation related to the Smith-Mundt Act itself and asserts that there’s a gross misunderstanding of the role of information in our foreign policy. Coupled with general risk aversion and a lack of vision for what tomorrow should look like, the United States appears to be lacking a sense of urgency. As just one example, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs position--essentially the chief international information operations officer of the State Department--has been vacant 40% of the time since 1999. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Matt Armstrong is a former Governor of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, now the US Agency for Global Media, a former executive director of the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and is a PhD student at King’s College London writing on the US’s failure to institutionally oppose Russian political warfare, 1945-1965. 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.

During this episode, Jeff Edmonds and Sam Bendett--both of whom are Russian specialists with the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA)--discuss their recently published report: AI and Autonomy in Russia. Funded by the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), the report covers everything from ethical considerations, to Russian entrepreneurship, to human capital gaps within the Russian citizenry. Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bios:  Samuel Bendett is an Adviser with CNA Strategy, Policy, Plans and Programs Center (SP3), where he is a member of the Russia Studies Program. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. His work involves research on the Russian defense and technology developments, unmanned and autonomous military systems and Artificial Intelligence, as well as Russian military capabilities and decision-making during crises. He is a Member of CNA’s Center for Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence, and an honorary “Mad Scientist” with the USARMY TRADOC’s Mad Scientist Initiative. He is also a Russian military autonomy and AI SME for the DOD’s Defense Systems Information Analysis Center. Prior to joining CNA, Bendett worked at the National Defense University on emerging and disruptive technologies for government response in crisis situations, where he conducted research on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy (OSD-P) and Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OSD-AT&L). His previous experience includes working for US Congress, private sector and non-profit organizations on foreign policy, international conflict resolution, defense and security issues. Bendett's analyses, views and commentary on Russian military robotics, unmanned systems and artificial intelligence capabilities appear regularly in the C4ISRnet, Forbes, DefenseOne, Breaking Defense, War on the Rocks, The National Interest, Modern War Institute, War Is Boring, and The Strategy Bridge. He was also a foreign policy and international affairs contributor to the RealClearWorld.com blog, writing on Russian military technology. Bendett received his M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University and B.A. in Politics and English from Brandeis University. He has native fluency in Russian. Jeffrey Edmonds is an expert on Russia and Eurasia. His research focuses on the Russian military, foreign policy, Russian threat perceptions, and Russian information and cyber operations. Most recently, Edmonds served as the Director for Russia on the National Security Council and acting Senior Director for Russia during the 2017 presidential transition. While on the NSC, Edmonds advised the president and his senior staff on Russia-related national security topics including the Ukraine and Syria crises, Russian military, foreign policy, threat perceptions, and information operations. Edmonds was also the lead director during a review of the United States policy towards Russia, culminating in a presidentially approved strategy that had global impact. Prior to the NSC, Edmonds served as a military analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, covering Eurasian militaries. He has served in the U.S. Army on both active duty and the reserves for 22 years, with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Edmonds holds an M.P.A. from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, an M.A. from Boston University in Religious Studies, and a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has a working knowledge of Russian. 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.