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#35 Jessica Dawson on Social Media Weaponization

The Cognitive Crucible

Release Date: 03/23/2021

#149 Jon Askonas on Technology, Homogeneity, and Influence show art #149 Jon Askonas on Technology, Homogeneity, and Influence

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, Jon Askonas discusses how technology may be leading us towards a homogenization and a cultural dead end where creativity is stifled by market forces. This homogenization process may also, inadvertently, make societies more susceptible to cybernetic influence techniques such as...

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#148 Kalev Leetaru on GDELT show art #148 Kalev Leetaru on GDELT

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, Kalev Leetaru discusses the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (or GDELT) project, global risk management, and open source intelligence. Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned by Anthony Olcott ...

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#147 Nita Farahany on Cognitive Liberty show art #147 Nita Farahany on Cognitive Liberty

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, Nita Farahany discusses her cognitive liberty concept, as well as her book: The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology. Research Question: Prof. Farahany asks what can we do individually to tell fact from fiction, safeguard against...

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#146 Sebastian Bae on Gaming show art #146 Sebastian Bae on Gaming

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, Sebastian Bae discusses games in a national security context. Games help leaders understand decisions and consequences in a synthetic environment. Sebastian also describes his newest game, Malign, which is designed in collaboration with for college students, foreign service...

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#145 Frank Strickland and Chris Whitlock on AI Education for Leaders show art #145 Frank Strickland and Chris Whitlock on AI Education for Leaders

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, Chris Whitlock and Frank Strickland discuss the importance of AI Education for Leaders. Drawing upon three decades of leading hundreds of advanced analytics and AI programs and projects in government and industry, Chris and Frank address the primary variable in the talent deficit...

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#144 Nicholas Eberstadt on Demographics show art #144 Nicholas Eberstadt on Demographics

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, Nicholas Eberstadt of the discusses demographic forces which have national security implications. Specifically, Nicholas recaps population dynamics which are unfolding in China, Russia, the United States, and the greater Middle East and broadly construed Islamic community. Research...

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#143 Conrado Dungca on ISR show art #143 Conrado Dungca on ISR

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, Conrad Dungca of the Naval Information Warfare Command Pacific (NIWC Pacific) discusses Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Conrad discusses each component of ISR, and how ISR fits into information operations.  Research Question: Conrad suggests two research...

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#142 Brian Murphy on Freedom/Security Tradeoff show art #142 Brian Murphy on Freedom/Security Tradeoff

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, Brian Murphy discusses issues surrounding ethics related to foreign disinformation–including difficult tradeoffs related to freedom and security. Research Question: Brian believes that we need more clearer criteria for what is disinformation and misinformation. There are no...

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#141 George Pullen on the Space Economy show art #141 George Pullen on the Space Economy

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, George Pullen discusses the space economy through a national security lens. Along the way, he answers some basic economic questions like: what is an economy, and what is GDP and why does it matter? Research Question: George Pullen believes the following questions should be studies...

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#140 Tom Ferris on Cognitive Ergonomics show art #140 Tom Ferris on Cognitive Ergonomics

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. Tom Ferris discusses his fascinating research related to cognitive ergonomics. Research Questions: Tom thinks the following questions need additional study: Human sensing and cognitive insights obtrusive physiology; making inferences during human studies; finding ways of...

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During this episode, MAJ Jessica Dawson of the Army Cyber Institute at West Point shares recent research about the social media ecosystem and how it is being weaponized. We also discuss the concept of identity and a new framework for understanding narrative weaponization for the purposes of mobilization and radicalization. Our conversation concludes with Jess’ policy and regulatory recommendations for mitigating risk. Link to full show notes and resources

Bio: MAJ Jessica Dawson is a native of rural Maine who enlisted in the Army in 1995 and reached the rank of Sergeant First Class before she commissioned into the Signal Corps in 2007. MAJ Dawson has served in Korea, Germany, Iraq and Fort Hood. She is currently serving as the lead research scientist for the Army Cyber Institute’s Information Warfare team and teaches sociology in the Department Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Duke University and is currently researching social media and extremism along with the implications of the digital disruption of social processes.

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 [email protected]

Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.

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