PUBLICATIONS

Through its publications, INSS provides rigorous, forward‑looking research and analysis on critical national security issues that support the joint warfighter and inform Department of War decision‑makers.

 

Publications

Results:
Category: Disruptive Technology

April 16, 2026

Breaking (Bad) Biotech — Revisiting the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

Dr. Giordano explores how advances in biotechnology, like gene editing and AI, allow adversaries to easily create novel, weaponizable biological agents that are difficult to detect and defend against. In an evolving operational environment, the nature of biological warfare has shifted.

April 15, 2026

INSS joins ASU Webinar to Discuss Ethical Frontiers of BCIs in Military Contexts

There are growing considerations of using current and emerging neurotechnology to develop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) aimed at optimizing performance of the joint warfighter.

April 9, 2026

Cognitive Warfare and the Changing Character of Engagement: A Neurostrategic Perspective

The contemporary battlespace is undergoing a profound transformation in its fundamental logic.

April 8, 2026

Controlling Command: Is AI Capturing the Ethics of War?

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with military operations is accelerating across global powers, including the United States, its allies, and competitor states such as China and Russia.

March 31, 2026

Defining the Palette of Biodeterrence: Appreciating a Broader Toolkit

As noted in the recently released Biodeterrence Framework, biological weapons present a uniquely complex challenge to traditional models of deterrence, in that their development can be concealed within ostensibly legitimate scientific enterprise, their effects may be delayed or ambiguous, and their attribution can often be difficult, particularly given the increasingly broadened scope of biothreat possibilities.

March 11, 2026

Precision in Words, Precision in Warfare: Terminology and Control in Military Discourse on Unmanned Systems

Unmanned vehicular systems (UVS) spanning aerial, maritime, terrestrial, and sub-surface domains have become integral to intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), logistics, strike operations, and electronic warfare. Yet despite the increasing ubiquity and sophistication of these technologies, discourse surrounding their capabilities can be undermined by imprecise terminology that conflates the terms automatic, remote, and autonomous in policy, technical, operational, strategic and policy briefings and planning.

Feb. 26, 2026

Disruptive Technology & the Future of Warfare, Discussion with Dr. James Giordano

Dr. James Giordano joins the NATDEF podcast, hosted by NDU's College of Information and Cyberspace.

Feb. 23, 2026

How AI Can Help Enforce the Biological Weapons Convention

President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to the United Nations General Assembly regarding the use of artificial intelligence systems to support oversight and enforcement of the Biological Weapons Convention represents a significant milestone in focusing emergent technological approaches to international biosecurity.

Jan. 26, 2026

AI-powered military neurotech: Mind enhancement or control?

Neurable, a consumer neurotechnology startup, has partnered with the Air Force to study whether electrode-studded headphones can track service members’ cognitive fitness, much like Garmin smartwatches have monitored Space Force members’ physical fitness, company and government officials said this month.

Jan. 8, 2026

Re-constructing and Construing the Warfighter: The Intersection of Bioengineering and Identity in Neurotechnologically Enhanced Military Personnel

Current joint warfighters are no longer merely trained — in many ways, they are increasingly bioengineered.