During this episode, John Bicknell has a wide-ranging discussion with Tom Sear about his stunning piece on Xenowar--a fictionalized possible future rooted in philosophy, second order cybernetics, and state of the art digital weaponry. Xenowar provokes conversation about data stacks, sovereignty in the Digital Age, and new PTSD management techniques. (Note: During the episode, John Bicknell inaccurately referenced Joseph Campbell's most famous work; the correct reference (linked below) is The Her...
Nov 30, 2020•44 min
During this episode, Steven Bradley discusses threat intelligence, Department of Homeland Security Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), and the newly formed Cognitive Security Intelligence Center . Click here for full show notes & resources Steven Bradley works at the intersection of technology, security operations, and policy to advance U.S. national cyber defense. He has over 20 years of experience managing the development and application of advanced data analytics solutions t...
Nov 24, 2020•24 min
During this episode, Dr. Boyd Brown discusses the history of military deception with examples. Then, the conversation shifts to current day deception technology in cyberspace. Dr. Brown describes new cyber defenses which place intruders into a hall of mirrors which wastes the enemy’s time while simultaneously collecting valuable intelligence about enemy intent. Click here for full show notes & resources Dr. Barton Boyd Brown is a retired US Army Information Operations officer and President o...
Nov 17, 2020•34 min
This is a special 90-minute bonus episode of the Cognitive Crucible. On October 29th 2020, IPA and AFCEA's ALAMO Chapter co-hosted a Virtual Panel on Combatting Disinformation in a Competitive Information Environment. The star-studded panel of senior government personnel and thought leaders spotlights the current pivot toward a convergence approach to improve our competitive advantage across the strategic and operational environments, most specifically in the cyber-enabled information space. The...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 28 min
During this episode, we have a wide ranging conversation with futurist, Brian David Johnson (or BDJ). Threastcasting is an innovative, interdisciplinary technique being used by a wide range of organizations and institutions to create actionable models to comprehend possible futures and identify, track, disrupt, mitigate and recover from them as well. Threatcasting bridges gaps and prompts information exchange and learning across military, academics, industrial and governmental communities. Click...
Nov 10, 2020•33 min
Marine Corps Colonel Brian Russell discusses his experiences with Joint Task Force ARES, allied and joint force partnerships, and lessons learned which are relevant for synchronizing operations in the Information Environment going forward. He also provides an overview of the Marine Corps' information operations capability: the Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group (II MEF Information Group) -- collect, protect, and project. Click here for full show notes & resources Colonel Brian Russ...
Nov 03, 2020•25 min
During this episode, Johannes Tammekänd discusses the evolution of deepfake technology and ways of countering the threat. He describes the dynamic as an arms race which requires increasingly sophisticated techniques to identify imagery, audio, and video which has been altered. Additionally, we discuss the upcoming United States Presidential election and the potential for a deepfake video to cause a major upheaval in the transfer of power. Johannes also describes the biggest systemic risk of deep...
Oct 27, 2020•39 min
During this episode, Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob drops by the Cognitive Crucible to discuss with John Bicknell his strategic communications research as well as his work with the United Nations global program focused on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) missions. Dr. Jacob observes that many strategic communications campaigns tend to focus on messaging and messaging strategy. He asserts, however, that these components should be secondary and that understanding networks is a critical...
Oct 20, 2020•36 min
During this discussion, Tom Kent joins The Cognitive Crucible to talk about his recent book: Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation . The wide ranging discussion covers the origins of Radio Free Europe, ethics, election meddling, and the story of The West. Click here for full show notes & resources Bio : Tom Kent teaches about Russian affairs and disinformation at Columbia University. He was president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty until 2018. Previously...
Oct 13, 2020•32 min
During this episode, we discuss with COL Mike Jackson and Dr. Paul Lieber their recently co-authored article “Countering Disinformation: Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?” . Referencing Richard Stengle’s recent book: Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About it , Mike and Paul make the case that well intentioned people frequently resort to “tribalism” which has a nonproductive effect. In 2015, Mike was part of a EUCOM and Department of State combin...
Oct 06, 2020•27 min
Social media has become not just an essential communication space, but also a new kind of conflict space. Organized disinformation campaigns have proliferated, targeting everything from elections to corporations to public health. During this episode, we discuss with Doowan Lee disinformation and fake news related to crises--including the 2020 COVID pandemic. We also discuss national security threats in the information environment and the interplay between Russian and Chinese information operatio...
Sep 29, 2020•36 min
During this episode, Mr. Randy Rosin drops by the Cognitive Crucible to discuss his Ph.D. dissertation and his experiences while on active duty in the US Army. He also compares the different ways that cybernetics has been adopted in Russia and the United States. He asserts that Russian information operations are grounded in cybernetic theory, while the United States opted for a more technological route that has diluted applied cybernetics, which has implications for operations in the information...
Sep 22, 2020•40 min
During this interview, we discuss with Ben Riley of Georgia Tech some of the ways that the Department of Defense engages with the research community. Additionally, we discuss risk appetite and the necessity for having an innovation mindset. Click here for full show notes & resources Since 2015, Mr. Ben Riley has been a principal research associate at the Georgia Institute of Technology (or Georgia Tech). Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Ben held senior leadership positions in the Department of...
Sep 15, 2020•33 min
During this episode, we discuss with Bob Thibadeau his work on lies and implications for the Information Age. *Correction: During the discussion, Dr. Thibadeau referred to neocortical computation as "bimodal" (e.g., vision and audition) but the more correct term is "intermodal" (the cognitive integration of all senses and actions). Interested listeners may engage with his "Whole of Society" effort at The Internet Court of Lies . Click here for full show notes & resources Professor Bob Thibad...
Sep 08, 2020•37 min
In this episode, we discuss the evolution of information operations since the early 1990s, the state of our national strategic efforts to compete in the information environment, and strategic approaches related to cognitive security. Click here for full show notes & resources Mr. Austin Branch is an Information Operations pioneer, practitioner and leader. He holds the distinction of being the Army’s very first Information Operations officer when that career field was just forming, and while ...
Sep 01, 2020•26 min
Dr. Rand Waltzman is one of the founding members of the Information Professionals Association. During this conversation, we discuss how he coined the term, "cognitive security." Dr Waltzman considers the information threat to be like a chronic disease which has no cure; however, it may be managed. Towards the end of the conversation, Dr. Waltzman suggests that those who are interested to learn more about the origins of modern propaganda should check out the video documentary " Century of the Sel...
Sep 01, 2020•19 min
In this episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation with Chris MacPherson on cognitive security and how it relates to business and innovation to include comparative examples between corporate marketing and military information operations, as well as algorithmic versus human decision-making. Click here for full show notes & resources Mr. Chris MacPherson has had a diverse career spanning academia, government and the private sector -- holding leadership, technical, and strategic roles focused...
Sep 01, 2020•41 min
This episode focuses on the intersection between education, terrorism, and information operations. Tony Sgro shares his experiences at the epicenter of social media efforts to curb recruitment and radicalization by engaging with students worldwide in creative projects. Click here for full show notes & resources Mr. Tony Sgro is the Founder and CEO of EdVenture Partners. EVP builds industry-education partnerships for economic and societal challenges by connecting students, educators and indus...
Sep 01, 2020•22 min
Welcome to The Cognitive Crucible . I’m your host, John Bicknell. Each week, I will be examining aspects of our generational challenge: Cognitive Security. The Cognitive Crucible bridges the gap between military information operators, researchers, authors, and public policy makers. For the foreseeable future, the global security landscape will be significantly impacted by the information environment. Through the potency and reach of worldwide social media and sister messaging platforms, both nat...
Aug 11, 2020•1 min
