NEW DELHI: China is intensifying its approach to warfare by focusing on the cognitive domain, aiming to influence human consciousness and perception to achieve military and political objectives without physical conflict. According to a recent report by The Diplomat, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been advancing its capabilities in cognitive warfare, leveraging the global expansion of the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence technologies, including the creation of deepfakes.
The PLA Daily, dated October 5, 2022, describes cognitive warfare as engaging in the domain of human thoughts and consciousness to alter reality in China’s favor. This involves “influencing human judgment, changing ideas, and influencing the human mind through selective processing and propagation of information.” The ultimate goal is to gain a war advantage by impacting the perceptions of civilians, military personnel, and political leaders, utilizing methods such as misinformation dissemination and cyberattacks, leading to social confusion and reduced combat motivation.
Technological advancements have significantly boosted the PLA’s cognitive warfare efforts. The widespread use of social media facilitates the rapid distribution of biased or manipulated information, creating an effective infrastructure for this modern warfare approach. Additionally, advancements in AI have enabled the creation of sophisticated fake videos and improved translation services, breaking down language barriers and enhancing the PLA’s reach and effectiveness.
Despite these capabilities, technical limitations still exist that prevent winning wars through cognitive operations alone. China, however, combines cognitive tactics with physical and information warfare operations to dominate peacetime and achieve victory in wartime. A recent example includes operations around Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, where China reportedly used these tactics to influence election outcomes by spreading fake images and supporting opposition parties indirectly while engaging in military provocations.
China’s commitment to advancing cognitive warfare is evident in its ongoing development of generative AI and brain-machine interface (BMI) technologies. These technologies could soon allow the creation of indistinguishably real fake videos and possibly influence human thoughts directly from external devices.
As cognitive warfare techniques continue to evolve, the report warns that open and free societies are particularly vulnerable. Democracies are urged to remain vigilant against efforts aimed at fostering social division and destabilizing politics, necessitating the development of countermeasures to protect against such sophisticated forms of warfare.
The PLA Daily, dated October 5, 2022, describes cognitive warfare as engaging in the domain of human thoughts and consciousness to alter reality in China’s favor. This involves “influencing human judgment, changing ideas, and influencing the human mind through selective processing and propagation of information.” The ultimate goal is to gain a war advantage by impacting the perceptions of civilians, military personnel, and political leaders, utilizing methods such as misinformation dissemination and cyberattacks, leading to social confusion and reduced combat motivation.
Technological advancements have significantly boosted the PLA’s cognitive warfare efforts. The widespread use of social media facilitates the rapid distribution of biased or manipulated information, creating an effective infrastructure for this modern warfare approach. Additionally, advancements in AI have enabled the creation of sophisticated fake videos and improved translation services, breaking down language barriers and enhancing the PLA’s reach and effectiveness.
Despite these capabilities, technical limitations still exist that prevent winning wars through cognitive operations alone. China, however, combines cognitive tactics with physical and information warfare operations to dominate peacetime and achieve victory in wartime. A recent example includes operations around Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, where China reportedly used these tactics to influence election outcomes by spreading fake images and supporting opposition parties indirectly while engaging in military provocations.
China’s commitment to advancing cognitive warfare is evident in its ongoing development of generative AI and brain-machine interface (BMI) technologies. These technologies could soon allow the creation of indistinguishably real fake videos and possibly influence human thoughts directly from external devices.
As cognitive warfare techniques continue to evolve, the report warns that open and free societies are particularly vulnerable. Democracies are urged to remain vigilant against efforts aimed at fostering social division and destabilizing politics, necessitating the development of countermeasures to protect against such sophisticated forms of warfare.