DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

 

 

INSS research focuses on the following disruptive technologies that enhance warfighter capabilities, readiness, and survivability; and which are being employed to shape the future operational environment and character of warfare. Biotechnology and biomanufacturing enable rapid production of critical supplies, and afford warfighters optimized capability to function in a range of operational settings and battlescapes. Directed energy systems provide precision responses to counter emerging threats of drones, hypersonic missiles, and adversaries use of advanced surveillance methods. Artificial intelligence integrates and enables use of vast data to improve information acquisition, analyses operational and decision-making. Autonomous systems extend operational reach and increase force capability and economy while reducing risk to personnel; and quantum technologies afford unprecedented sensing, communication, and computing capabilities to maximize mission effectiveness in contested environments. Together, these innovations fortify the joint warfighter, reduce vulnerabilities, enhance mission effectiveness, and provide decisive advantage in modern and future warfare.

Research and Commentary

Cover Image for Journal of Military Ethics, Volume 24, Issue 3-4, (2025)
Re-constructing and Construing the Warfighter: The Intersection of Bioengineering and Identity in Neurotechnologically Enhanced Military Personnel
By Elise Annett, John Shook, and James Giordano | Jan. 8, 2026
Current joint warfighters are no longer merely trained — in many ways, they are increasingly bioengineered. Within the contemporary warfighting paradigms, the body becomes a domain of technological inscription, where interventions collapse the boundary between therapy and enhancement, transforming organic bodies into operational platforms fortified for tactical efficiency and strategic imperatives.

Photo by: NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute.
A stylized digital illustration of a glowing DNA double helix suspended in a futuristic blue interface. Surrounding the helix are schematic icons representing molecular structures, chemical formulas, data grids, network nodes, and atomic symbols. The image visually conveys the convergence of biotechnology, data, artificial intelligence, and advanced scientific systems in a highly networked, modern research environment.
Biotechnologies and the Treaty Gap: Why Biological Weapons Governance Is Falling Behind; and Some Thoughts on How to Fix It
By Dr. James Giordano | Dec. 22, 2025
The Scottish ballad Auld Lang Syne, written in 1788 by poet Robert Burns is a tune traditionally played to ring out the passing year and herald in the new. The lyrics offer an invitation to celebrate that which was good, and toast to what may come.

A stylized, futuristic human face rendered in blue and red digital circuits. The left side of the face glows blue with circuit lines, while the right side has warm orange and red colors with sparks of light. Surrounding the figure is a network of data pathways, symbolizing the intersection of human cognition and artificial intelligence.
Human Agency Under Predictive Insight: Neuroethical Guidance of Behavioral AI
By Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano | Dec. 2, 2025
The examination of the Centaur AI system highlights a turning point at the intersection of behavioral science and artificial intelligence, and reveals a compelling truth: human choice displays structured regularity that advanced analytic systems can model.

A soldier wears virtual reality glasses; a graphic depiction of a chess set sits in the foreground. Illustration created by NIWC Pacific.
Critical Technology Areas Part 2: Implications and Recommendations for the Warfighter and Warfighting
By Dr. James Giordano | Nov. 24, 2025
As noted in last week’s special edition Strategic Insights, the Department of War will focus upon furthering research, testing and use of six key domains of disruptive technology (viz., applied artificial intelligence [AI], biomanufacturing, contested logistics technologies, quantum and battlefield information dominance, scaled directed energy, and scaled hypersonics).

Special Edition Image
Convergent Critical Technologies Part 1: The Integrative Transformation of Warfighting
By Dr. James Giordano | Nov. 18, 2025
The Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s designation of six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs; viz., Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy, and Scaled Hypersonics) constitutes a fundamental conceptualization of how power will be projected, contested, and sustained across the conflict spectrum.

The image shows a silhouette of a human head in profile, with the brain area illustrated using circuit-like patterns.
Darwin Monkey: Next Generation Neuromorphic Computing and Competition for Cognitive Capability and Control
By Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano | Nov. 18, 2025
The Darwin Monkey System represents a substantive pivot from conventional AI toward synthetic cognition through neuromorphic architectures that emulate the structural and functional dynamics of the brain.

Soldier using virtual tablet hologram army technology
The Agentic Database and Military Command: A Perspective on Autonomous C2 Systems
By Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano | Nov. 17, 2025
The shift from passive databases to “active reasoning engines” in commercial agentic AI signals a fundamental transformation in how decisions are made, authority is exercised, and accountability is maintained.

Cover of Open Journal of Philosophy
The Logos and Limits of Artificial Cognition: The Exemplar of Military Use
By Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano | Nov. 17, 2025
As AI increasingly emulates tasks of human judgment, abstraction, and decision-making, it challenges foundational conceptions of mind, agency, and moral responsibility.

A digital 3D illustration of interconnected cubes, representing a blockchain or network system, with blue connecting lines forming a web-like structure.
Beyond Mechanistic Control: Causal Decision Processing in Neuromorphic Military Artificial Intelligence
By Dr. James Giordano | Sept. 24, 2025
As we transition from traditional mechanistic AI architectures to those that are designed and developed to more closely mirror the complex causal dynamics of neural systems, military stake and shareholders (and oversight organizations) must confront new paradigms of autonomous decision-making that can challenge conventional understandings of predictability, command control, and accountability in AI.

Soldier interacting with futuristic interface
Autonomous Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: Toward a Model of Strategic Integration, Ethical Authority, and Operational Constraint
By Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano | Sept. 17, 2025
Artificially intelligent systems are being developed to have iteratively autonomous function, and these systems are increasingly being considered for use in military settings, weapon platforms, and operations.