Discussions about cognitive warfare, particularly involving the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), have been prominent in recent years. The PLA Daily’s October 5, 2022 article defines cognitive warfare as the manipulation of human consciousness and thoughts to influence reality in favor of China. This is achieved by shaping human judgment, altering ideas, and impacting the human mind through selective information processing and dissemination. The ultimate goal is to gain an advantage in warfare by influencing the perceptions of civilians, military personnel, and political leaders through methods like spreading disinformation and conducting cyber-attacks.
Although cognitive warfare, such as propaganda and deception, is not new, the PLA’s focus on it has increased due to advancements in technology. The expansion of the Internet and the rise of social media have facilitated the rapid dissemination of biased information. Additionally, artificial intelligence has enabled the creation of sophisticated fake videos called deepfakes, enhancing the effectiveness of cognitive warfare. The PLA sees these technologies as tools to gain an edge in warfare without direct physical combat, leading to the concept of “winning without fighting.”
While winning a war solely through cognitive operations remains unlikely due to technical limitations, China aims to combine operations across the cognitive, physical, and information domains to achieve dominance in peacetime and victory in wartime. The PLA has already conducted coordinated operations in these three domains against Taiwan, influencing election outcomes and attempting to sway public opinion through various means.
China’s focus on advancing generative AI and brain machine interface (BMI) technologies underscores its commitment to leveraging cognitive warfare to control human cognition. As technology evolves, the potential for sophisticated fake videos and direct manipulation of thoughts increases, posing a significant challenge to vulnerable societies. Democracies must develop robust systems and technologies to counter these evolving threats in both wartime and peacetime.
IIDA Masafumi is Director of the Security Studies Department, National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS)