#15 Bonus IPA/AFCEA Alamo Information Warfare Panel Discussion
Release Date: 11/13/2020
#245 Pat Roberson and Andrew Hallman on Arms and Influence: How information and influence operations are evolving in the modern security environment – and how the United States can regain the advantage
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Andrew Hallman and Pat Roberson from Leidos discuss information operations (IO) and influence warfare in the modern security environment. Adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran are using information campaigns to challenge U.S. dominance, targeting both American homeland audiences...
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#241 Andy Whiskeyman on Cognitive Intelligence
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Andrew Whiskeyman discusses his co-authored article: . "COGINT" is the systematic mapping, safeguarding, and operational exploitation of decision-making architectures in the contemporary cognitive battle space. Topics include: understanding and protecting human decision-making...
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#242 Doug Wilbur on Propaganda
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Doug Wilbur discussed propaganda, information warfare, and strategic optimism–emphasizing society's capability for problem-solving. He defined propaganda as any communication intended to influence behavior in the propagandist's favor, distinguishing it from persuasion. Wilbur...
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#243 Doug Abdiel on the New Fog of War–Navigating Through GPS-Denied and Degraded Environments
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Doug Abdiel discusses the vivid operational problem of GPS-denied or GPS-degraded environments and how is helping operators cut through the fog of modern warfare. Recording Date: 16 Feb 2026 Research Question: Doug Abdiel suggests an interested student or researcher examine the...
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#244 Sean Guillory on Betting Intelligence and National Security
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Sean Guillory discusses the rapid ascent of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi which are transforming global events into tradable assets. Recording Date: 23 Feb 2026 Research Question: Sean Guillory suggests an interested student or researcher examine: How...
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#240 Anthony Vinci on the Fourth Intelligence Revolution
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Anthony Vinci, author of , discusses how the battlefield has shifted from physical territory to the human brain. From China’s influence within U.S. education and gaming to the subtle "mind hacking" potential of AI-generated misinformation, Anthony breaks down the strategic...
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#239 Ian Brown on Snowmobiles and Grand Ideals
The Cognitive Crucible
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. John Boyd is well known to have formally written down very little of his own theories on war and conflict, making researching his concepts challenging and leading many to infer meanings based on their own interpretations—or others’—of what little easily accessible evidence of his thinking remains....
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#238 Bill Wall on AI in Information Operations
The Cognitive Crucible
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 ’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...
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#237 Josh “Bugsy” Segal on Ukraine, Electronic Warfare, and Fast Battlefield Innovation
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Dr. Josh “Bugsy” Segal recaps his recent observations from the Ukraine battlefield and concerns for Western governments which don’t adapt quickly. Ukraine's rapid development of sophisticated, cost-effective domestic defense technology, including advanced counter-drone...
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#236 Michael Lissack on Anticipatory Agents
The Cognitive Crucible
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, Michael Lissack discusses –a unified theoretical framework that reconciles Quantum Bayesianism (QBism), Robert Rosen's theory of Anticipatory Systems, the causal bubbles interpretation of quantum mechanics, and pragmatic constructivism through Hans Vaihinger's philosophy of 'as...
info_outlineOn 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 event slide deck is available here.
Across the National and Defense enterprise, agencies and organizations are reprioritizing and reorganizing to more effectively compete in a competitive and complex global information environment. The Nation is being increasingly impacted by cutting-edge technology and sophisticated influence activities to shape perceptions, decisions and behavior.
The discussion is framed by the recently released Defense Science Board study regarding global competition in the information environment, includes ongoing efforts, and as well as new initiatives to support USG and DOD priorities in cognitive security such establishing a Cognitive Security Proving Ground, re-establishing the Phoenix Challenge information operations conference series, and discussion of the newly-established Principal Information Operations Advisor to the Secretary of Defense.
Moderated by Mr. Austin Branch; the star-studded panelists are:
- Ms. Lynne Patrick, Technical Director at Sixteenth Air Force Joint Base San Antonio
- Dr. Brian Pierce, Visiting Research Scientist at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS)
- LTG (RET.) Ed Cardon, Former Commander of US Army Cyber Command, and Commander JTF ARES
- Mr. Rob “Bus” Bussian, Director for Cyber and Strategic Enabling in the Concepts, Development and Management Office under the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force
- Mr. Bob Pearson, Social media expert, author, professor, digital consultant
- Mr. Joe Kelly, Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security and President of Pointweaver, LLC
For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org.
Or, you can connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell on LinkedIn.