Cognition is the process by which people obtain, process and apply information and knowledge. At present, the cognitive domain has gradually become a new battlefield for competition, and cognitive warfare has gradually attracted attention from all countries. With the development of the technological revolution and the expansion of warfare practice, cognitive warfare is showing an accelerated evolution trend.
Cognitive technology is becoming a fundamental driving force in the evolution of warfare. Technology changes the form of warfare and also changes the way of cognitive warfare. If the large-scale popularization of information networks has promoted the information domain to become a combat domain, and the exponential growth of data and network scale is a sign of the maturity of the information domain, then the large-scale application of cognitive technology and the continuous iterative development of cognitive technology will become A sign of maturity in driving cognitive warfare. In the future, technologies such as cognitive environment, cognitive perception, cognitive control, and artificial intelligence will reflect the transformative impact that cognitive technology may have on social cognitive confrontation and military cognitive confrontation. Humanity is entering the era of universal communication, and global cyberspace is becoming highly interconnected. The Internet has become a battle space for all-round competition between state actors and non-state actors. Communication disputes and communication wars have become part of the level of high-intensity military operations. At present, major countries in the world are deploying at the forefront of cognitive technology and launching cognitive technology competitions. Through modeling and analysis, they seek to penetrate and control human brain networks, information networks and social networks; through deep calculations, actuarial calculations, clever calculations, etc., they aim to maximize Gain control over people’s cognitive world and cognitive domains.
The cognitive domain is becoming an important battlefield in hybrid warfare. In the era of intelligence, the way humans communicate is undergoing complex and profound changes. Offline communication has given way to more online communication, various new media platforms have become the main channels for the public to understand the battlefield, and large-scale social platforms have become the main battleground for cognitive game struggles. Therefore, the combat domain of future wars will continue to expand. The spatial domain will expand from land, sea, air, and space networks to deep space, deep sea, and deep ground, while the logical domain will expand from the physical domain to the information domain and cognitive domain. War is no longer limited to the physical threats of traditional wars, but is turning to social consciousness threats brought about by mass media and technological progress. Blockade and counter-blockade, dominance and counter-dominance around communication platforms will become the focus of cognitive warfare. Using information as ammunition to fight for control of international discourse has become the main method of cognitive confrontation today. From the perspective of hybrid warfare, ideological propaganda and indoctrination, penetration of values and culture, traditional public opinion psychology and legal offense and defense, and information network warfare have all become important aspects of cognitive warfare. Hybrid warfare can achieve the goal of winning in small battles or even without fighting through comprehensive gaming methods such as cognitive warfare. Attack and defense in the cognitive field will be an uninterrupted and normalized struggle, and combat effectiveness will continue to accumulate and be gradually released. .
Cognitive superiority is becoming a winning advantage in high-end warfare. Freedom of conduct in war is the lifeblood of the military. From a cognitive perspective, the deeper the understanding of the battlefield environment and combat opponents, the greater the freedom of action and the greater the relative advantage. However, with the exponential growth of combat data in wars, commanders have begun to face the cognitive dilemma of data swamp, data fog, and data overload. Having information advantage does not mean having cognitive advantage. An important military application direction of artificial intelligence technology is to process massive data in real time to help commanders get rid of cognitive overload and quickly form cognitive advantages. In intelligent warfare, cognitive advantages will dominate decision-making advantages, and decision-making advantages will dominate action advantages. Cognitive advantages have four key indicators: stronger information acquisition capabilities, faster artificial intelligence machine learning speed, more effective emergency handling capabilities, and higher capabilities to develop and apply new technologies and new knowledge. For example, public opinion warfare with new characteristics of data-driven intelligent communication and traditional military operations have been highly coordinated and integrated. This combat style that integrates virtual and real operations has stronger combat effectiveness than pure military operations, fundamentally changing traditional combat methods. Change. The linkage and superposition of cognitive advantages will accelerate the transformation of combat effectiveness and become the fundamental advantage for winning wars.
Cognitive theory is becoming the frontier of gaming to win the war. Cognitive warfare is a combination of soft power and hard power and is an important factor affecting national security in today’s era. At present, the competition for penetration and counter-infiltration, attack and counter-attack, control and counter-control of cognitive space is fierce. Cognitive science theory is entering the military field, and concepts such as cognitive load, cognitive enhancement, cognitive immunity, and cognitive subversion are being introduced. , has appeared frequently in the field of cognitive warfare research abroad. Foreign militaries believe that the cognitive domain is the “sixth combat domain” of human warfare, the core of the “intertwined conflict fields” in the era of great power competition, and an important direction for future military theoretical innovation. Obviously, cognitive warfare has become the strategic commanding heights for winning future wars. Cognitive theory has become the frontier of theoretical innovation. Cognitive technology will accelerate cognitive warfare and become an important “tipping point” for the intelligent military revolution. As new technologies, new theories, and new styles of cognitive warfare are being incubated at an accelerated pace, perhaps future warfare will take on a surprising new situation.
Military theorists often say that victory tends to smile on those who can foresee changes in the character of warfare, rather than on those who wait for changes to occur and then adapt. In recent years, disruptive technologies represented by artificial intelligence have developed rapidly and are widely used in the military field, accelerating the evolution of war into intelligence. Correspondingly, the concept of war is also changing. Only by discovering changes in time, proactively responding to changes, and actively adapting to changes can we remain invincible in future wars.
From “using the strong to defeat the weak” to “using wisdom to control the weak”
“The strong wins and the weak loses” is a certain universal law for winning wars. Even in those battles in which the weak defeat the strong, it is often necessary to form a strength advantage over the enemy locally and at a specific period of time in order to truly win. In the era of intelligent warfare, the contribution rate of intelligence superiority to combat effectiveness is much higher than other factors.
In intelligent warfare, human intelligence has widely penetrated into the combat field and been transplanted into weapon systems. All-domain, multi-dimensional, and various types of intelligent combat platforms can quickly couple combat forces, build combat systems based on mission requirements, and independently implement collaborative operations and missions. After the end, it quickly returns to the state of waiting for war, showing the trend of intelligent autonomy. The side with higher and stronger intelligence can better develop and use the “wisdom to control” mechanism, and even design wars based on this, dominate the development of the war situation, and achieve final victory. It should also be noted that in the era of intelligent warfare, there are likely to be multiple stages of development from low to high. Try to keep yourself in an advanced stage and attack the opponent to a low-dimensional stage. This is also the mechanism of “outsmarting” by using high to defeat low. Use.
From “destroying power” to “destroying cognition”
As the form of war accelerates and evolves towards intelligence, the combat space gradually expands from the physical domain and information domain to the cognitive domain, extending from the tangible battlefield to the invisible battlefield. The cognitive space composed of human spirit and psychological activities has become a new combat space. Different from the main purpose of traditional war, which is to eliminate the enemy’s physical strength, intelligent warfare will pay more attention to weakening the enemy’s morale, disintegrating the enemy’s will, and destroying the enemy’s cognition.
By intelligently analyzing the opponent’s personality preferences, psychological characteristics, and decision-making habits, deterrence information can be “tailored” in a targeted manner, and the advantages of cutting-edge technologies such as intelligence can be used to demonstrate powerful strength to the opponent in a realistic way, making anxiety and suspicion Emotions such as fear and fear continued to ferment within it, eventually leading to its self-defeat. Big data, known as the “new oil”, not only enriches the source of intelligence, but also becomes an important “weapon” that affects the opponent’s cognition. By processing big data and deliberately “leaking” it to the opponent, a new “fog of war” will be created for it, making it fall into a state of cognitive confusion. In intelligent warfare, the struggle for the heart and mind will become more intense, and the party with the cognitive advantage will be better than the other party, making it easier to seize the initiative and take advantage of opportunities.
From “people-oriented” to “human-machine collaboration”
In traditional warfare, the organization and use of military force are dominated by people. With the widespread application of smart technology, the proportion of unmanned equipment continues to increase. In intelligent warfare, combat tasks will be completed by man-machine collaboration, and the two will achieve organic integration and complementary advantages. The third “offset strategy” proposed by foreign military forces focuses on human-machine collaboration as a key technology for development. Concepts such as “loyal wingman” proposed by them are also aimed at exploring the realization of manned/unmanned collaborative operations. It is foreseeable that human-machine collaboration will play an important role in future wars.
Utilizing unmanned reconnaissance forces to carry out three-dimensional and multi-dimensional battlefield situation awareness can provide real-time intelligence support for manned combat forces; using unmanned platforms to carry relay loads can continuously provide communication relay support for manned combat forces; using unmanned combat forces to penetrate into the front battlefield, It can attract enemy attacks, force the enemy to expose its position, and provide target guidance and fire support for manned combat forces; using unmanned transportation equipment to provide material supplies to the front line can improve logistics support efficiency, reduce transportation costs, and reduce unnecessary casualties. With the assistance of artificial intelligence, manned combat forces and unmanned combat forces will achieve scientific division of labor and reasonable coordination in terms of quantity, scale, functions, etc., thereby maximizing overall effectiveness.
From “eating the small with the big” to “eating the slow with the fast”
In traditional wars, it is often necessary to increase the number of troops to make up for shortcomings in equipment performance and other aspects. “Soldiers love the main speed”, the rapid development of military intelligence has greatly improved the speed of information transmission and weapon strike accuracy, greatly reduced the time for reconnaissance and early warning, intelligence processing, command decision-making, fire strikes, damage assessment, and accelerated the OODA kill chain cycle , making “discovery and destruction” possible.
New rapid-kill weapons such as hypersonic missiles, laser weapons, microwave weapons, and electromagnetic pulse weapons have further pushed the pace of war to “instant kill.” In the Gulf War, the loop time of the OODA loop took 3 days; in the Iraq War, the loop time has been shortened to less than 10 minutes; and in the Syrian War, the loop time has almost achieved near real-time. In intelligent warfare, the use of unmanned platforms that integrate surveillance and combat to quickly and precisely eliminate high-value targets such as the enemy’s core command posts and high-level commanders will cause the opponent to suffer heavy damage before it has time to respond, and may even face the danger of paralysis. It can be seen that victory does not necessarily favor the side with large military strength. The side that moves quickly and accurately will be more likely to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. According to statistics, the reaction time required for artificial intelligence to respond to battlefield changes is more than 400 times faster than that of humans. Faced with the ever-changing battlefield situation, people will be more inclined to use artificial intelligence technology to realize adaptive planning and autonomous decision-making of the command and control system, so that the command and control mode changes from “people on the loop” to “people outside the loop”, thereby mitigating the While reducing the burden on command personnel, it can improve combat efficiency and the success rate of mission execution.
From “Integration to Win” to “Cluster to Win”
The traditional equipment development concept is to invest a large amount of money in the research and development of highly integrated, sophisticated weapon platforms, in order to achieve dimensionality reduction against the enemy by virtue of generational advantages and performance advantages in war. However, the development and deployment of multi-functional high-end platforms not only requires a lot of time and money, but when multiple software and hardware modules are integrated into a single weapon platform, there may also be mutual incompatibility. Once the platform is destroyed, significant losses will occur. The military application of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence has promoted the rapid development of unmanned swarms. Unmanned swarms have the advantages of large scale, low overall cost, and decentralization. The unmanned platforms coordinate with each other and cooperate with each other. They can make decisions independently and carry out combat tasks in an organized manner. Even if some unmanned platforms are destroyed, the overall operation will not be affected. efficacy. The operational concepts such as “decision-centered warfare” and “mosaic warfare” proposed by foreign military forces focus on using unmanned swarms to complete combat missions. In intelligent warfare, by dispersing reconnaissance and surveillance, information communication, command and control, fire strike and other functions into a large number of unmanned combat units with a single function, a highly robust and elastic “kill network” is constructed, and then based on mission needs Adjusting the combination method will allow powerful group intelligence to emerge, creating great uncertainty for the opponent, thereby trapping the opponent in the judgment link of the OODA loop, unable to make effective decisions. In addition, due to the large number of unmanned swarms, the opponent’s detection, tracking, and interception capabilities can quickly reach saturation. Because the opponent cannot destroy all unmanned platforms in the swarm, the opponent has to face the dilemma of defense failure.
From “military dominance” to “diversified mixture”
Traditional war mainly relies on violent means to make the enemy succumb to one’s own will. It usually has a strong war intensity and has a clear boundary between peacetime and wartime. As the field of military struggle continues to expand into new fields such as space, network, and intelligence, and the role of economic, cultural, diplomatic, legal and other means in war continues to become more prominent, intelligent warfare will be carried out in many fields represented by “grey zones” In the form of “multi-pronged approach”. The intensity of war may weaken, and the boundaries between peace and war will become more blurred. Whether it is the Saudi oil fields that were attacked by drones in 2019, which caused half of its oil production to cease, or the largest oil pipeline in the United States that suffered a cyber attack in 2021, which caused a large-scale oil shortage, the far-reaching impact of various new attack methods cannot be ignored. underestimate.
As intelligent technology develops and matures, it will become more common to use a variety of means to launch attacks on opponents’ industrial, transportation, financial, communications, energy, medical and other facilities and networks. The threshold for intelligent warfare will show a downward trend, and warring parties may resort to undeclared warfare to launch hybrid wars that integrate economic warfare, diplomatic warfare, cyber warfare, public opinion warfare, psychological warfare, legal warfare and other types of warfare, leaving opponents exhausted. cope.
From “actual combat test” to “experimental exercise”
Under traditional conditions, due to the lack of scientific simulation and evaluation tools, the true capabilities of the military can only be tested in actual combat. Under intelligent conditions, virtual reality technology can be used to create virtual scenes with a strong three-dimensional sense and realism based on the actual battlefield environment and mission background. This scene can not only restore objective things such as weapons and equipment from multiple dimensions such as sound, appearance, and performance, but also simulate various severe weather such as heavy fog, heavy rain, and blizzards, and visually display the terrain, meteorology, hydrology, etc. of the battlefield. Electromagnetic, nuclear and other information is close to the real situation on the battlefield.
Setting the imaginary enemy in the virtual environment based on the characteristics of the enemy in reality and conducting intelligent simulation of the possible direction of the war situation can enable officers and soldiers to “experience” the war several times in virtual reality before the official war begins, thereby making a better understanding of equipment performance, With a clear understanding of the rhythm of the war and the situation between ourselves and the enemy, you will be more able to perform realistic tasks with ease. Before the outbreak of the Iraq War, the US military secretly developed a computer game that simulated the combat environment in Baghdad. Among the personnel sent to perform tasks in Iraq, the survival rate of those who received game training was as high as 90%. As the data collected in reality continue to be enriched and improved, the construction of the virtual battlefield will become more realistic, the prediction of the direction of the battlefield situation will be more accurate, and the comprehensive assessment of the exercise will be more credible. Both hostile parties will strive to use intelligent deduction. If the outcome of the war is known in advance, it will be possible to “subdue the enemy’s troops” without fighting or with a small battle.
Judging from the latest local war practice, cognitive domain operations have become an important variable that profoundly affects the direction of war. In cognitive domain operations, all parties compete fiercely for control of public opinion, information guidance, and cognitive shaping. There are not only physical confrontations, but also competitions in virtual space, demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of “technology +” in the digital era. Exploring the way to win in cognitive domain operations is of great practical significance for controlling the initiative in cognitive domain operations and winning future wars.
Seizing control of the brain has become the ultimate goal of cognitive domain operations
The brain is the material basis of all thinking activities and the command center that influences and controls human behavior changes. Feeling, perception and consciousness constitute the three aspects of the world that the brain reflects. How to win the right to control the brain has increasingly become the focus of research and attention by all warring parties in the field of cognitive domain operations.
Actively fight for sensory control. Feeling is the reaction caused by the characteristics of objective things in the human brain, and is the basis for various complex psychological processes. With the rapid development of brain science, molecular biology, neurochemistry and other disciplines, humans have gradually gained the ability to intervene and control the brain at the physiological level. According to foreign experimental results, inhaling oxytocin will make people more trusting of others and more empathetic, thereby affecting a person’s prosociality and moral performance. In future operations, the warring parties will use physical stimulation such as sound, light and electricity, or chemical drugs to act on the target’s hearing, vision, smell and other sensory systems. They may even directly act on the human brain to stimulate the target’s brain. Specific emotional reactions can achieve cognitive influence and control on the physiological level.
Effective competition for perceptual suppression. Perception is a psychological process formed on the basis of sensation and reflects the overall image and surface connection of objective things. Among them, the individual’s attitude, motivation, interest, as well as past experience and future expectations are the key variables that affect the individual’s perception of the perceptual target. During wartime, warring parties aim at the target’s psychological doubts, weaknesses, and needs, seize favorable opportunities, and use specific information to emotionally influence, mentally induce, or disrupt the target’s perception in order to increase the target’s perception of the target. The expectation of war risks weakens their will to resist and their determination to fight, thereby achieving the purpose of subduing the enemy with a small war, less fighting or even no fighting.
Comprehensive competition for the right to shape consciousness. Consciousness is realized through psychological processes such as feeling, perception, and thinking, and is manifested as the unity of knowledge, emotion, and intention. The fundamental purpose of war is to force the enemy to surrender. Judging from the war practice at home and abroad in ancient and modern times, in order to win the right to shape consciousness, the warring parties will do their best to mobilize all available military power and comprehensively use political, economic, cultural, diplomatic and other means to carry out political disintegration and diplomatic measures against the enemy. Isolation, guidance of public opinion, and declaration of legal principles can trigger rational thinking, ethical resonance, or value recognition of target individuals or groups, thereby changing their worldview, outlook on life, and values, forming a relatively stable and long-term cognitive influence or control, thereby achieving “complete victory.” “the goal of.
Controlling information becomes the key to cognitive domain operations
The weapon and ammunition of cognitive domain operations is information. Mastering the initiative in the generation, identification, acquisition, dissemination and feedback of information is the key to gaining battlefield advantage in the cognitive domain.
Actively implement strong psychological stimulation to promote information penetration. Modern warfare is fierce and complex, with various elements of confrontation unfolding in multi-dimensional and multi-domain contexts, and fighter jets fleeting. The forces and methods acting in the cognitive domain must keep up with the development and changes of the battlefield situation, and make extensive use of strong psychological stimulation methods such as subliminal information implantation, acousto-optical electromagnetic psychological nuisance damage, and non-contact emotional control to take the initiative to induce the target. The subject’s emotions, will, thoughts, beliefs, etc. appear chaotic, confused or radically changed, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling and influencing the cognitive system of the target subject.
Extensive use of intelligent algorithms to achieve accurate push. As the Internet penetrates into every aspect of human life, everyone will leave massive amounts of data and information online. During wartime, warring parties will use modern information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and blockchain to analyze the target’s social data, trajectory data, financial data, online shopping records, search records, personal communication records and other network data. The information is deeply mined and associated to achieve a “cognitive portrait” of the target object, and the target object’s interest preferences, behavioral trends, interpersonal relationships and value orientations are systematically analyzed, thereby three-dimensionally grasping the characteristics of relevant individuals or specific groups. Then, with the help of intelligent algorithm technology, personalized and customized cognitive information is accurately pushed to the target object, thereby affecting the target object’s attitude, emotion and value judgment towards the war, thereby promoting the realization of one’s own combat objectives and political intentions.
Effectively aggregate social support systems to achieve overall linkage. The social support system is the material and spiritual help and support that a person can obtain from others in his or her social network. It is a key factor that affects and determines the emotional support and cognitive direction of an individual. It can be said that for the success of cognitive domain operations, it is crucial to obtain the support and assistance of the target’s social support system. With the help of modern information technology, we can effectively connect to the target’s relatives, friends, classmates, partners and other specific social relations. By exerting targeted influence on the above-mentioned relations, we can gain the understanding, support and trust of the other party, and mobilize the specific relations to When the target object exerts influence, it is easier to win the trust and acceptance of the target object, and it is easier for the target object to undergo cognitive changes, thereby achieving the purpose of cognitive influence and control on the target object.
Virtual space becomes the main battlefield for cognitive domain operations
With the continuous expansion of human virtual space, virtual space is becoming the main battlefield of modern warfare, especially cognitive domain warfare, which determines the outcome of future wars to a certain extent.
Emerging communication forms have become new means of warfare in the cognitive domain. With the continuous development of mobile Internet technology, emerging communication forms represented by social media have gradually become a new platform and mainstream position for cognitive confrontation. Judging from recent local wars, the status and role of social media has become more and more prominent. All warring parties use personal blogs, forums and other platforms to publish battlefield pictures, videos, and comments in real time, which has not only become a global mobile online media terminal. It has also become the main battleground for the value perception game among different countries and different factions around the world. Emerging communication forms such as social media, with their unique decentralization and interactivity characteristics, have broken the information monopoly and information control in traditional communication methods and spawned numerous product styles. While meeting people’s information needs, they are also Unknowingly changing people’s perceptions. It is foreseeable that social media will play an increasingly prominent role in cognitive domain operations in the future.
Cyberspace has become a new space for cognitive domain operations. Under the conditions of informatization and intelligence, the threshold of network technology has been greatly reduced, making it possible to watch the game in real time around the world. Modern warfare has developed from “living room warfare” in the television era to “handheld warfare” in today’s all-media era. Online live broadcast is more intuitive and richer than any form of battlefield reporting, and “global synchronicity” has become a prominent feature. Through live broadcasts on the Internet, videos and pictures of fierce battles between the two warring parties, as well as numerous burned tanks and armored vehicles, as well as homes destroyed by the war and refugees fleeing their homes, can be visually displayed. People can see the micro-state of individual civilians and soldiers on both sides through the Internet. The “transparency” of the battlefield makes any attempt to conceal the truth and false statements more and more difficult. But on the other hand, the emergence of technologies such as intelligent voice cloning and video portrait simulation replacement means that what people see may not necessarily be “as seen” and what they hear may not be “as heard”. Cognition under online live broadcasts Domain operations add more room for possibility and imagination.
The intelligent network army has become a new force in cognitive domain warfare. The development of information networks has broken through the authenticity limitations of interpersonal communication, and it is difficult for us to determine whether the other end of the network is a real person. Based on the needs of large-scale interaction, intelligent, automated, and large-scale cyberspace robots are emerging. They are widely active in every corner of cyberspace. These intelligent network armies have the capabilities of intelligent recognition, intelligent response and even brain-like thinking. They are tireless and work around the clock. Intelligent network armies are becoming an important force in future cognitive domain operations. Judging from the current development trends of related technologies, major countries and even business organizations in the world are focusing on the potential prospects of network robots in group penetration, live broadcast follow-up, shaping public opinion, and managing network crises. In the flexible guidance of network intelligent robots, Increase research and development efforts on key technologies such as automatic acquisition of technology groups, automatic cultivation and group penetration, and provide intelligent and efficient technical support for public opinion guidance, cognitive shaping, and behavioral guidance and control by discovering and effectively utilizing the behavioral patterns of network users.
Cognitive domain operations take people’s will, beliefs, thinking, psychology, etc. as direct combat objects, and then affect their decisions and actions by changing the opponent’s cognition. Entering the era of information-based and intelligent warfare, cognitive domain warfare has become an important form of great power game, with all parties striving to achieve political goals in a relatively controllable manner. Gaining insight into the characteristics and development trends of cognitive domain operations is of urgent and important practical significance for winning future wars.
At present, the cognitive domain has entered the war stage as an independent domain, and has increasingly become a common domain, a battleground, and a weight for victory in the game between great powers. Analyze the characteristics and development trends of cognitive domain operations, which are reflected in at least the following eight aspects.
The cognitive domain is the key domain for transforming military advantage into political victory.
On the surface, military confrontation is a confrontation between the hard power of both sides. On a deeper level, no matter what the nature of the war is and for what purpose, it is ultimately a contest of human wills. The key to victory is the ability to impose your will on your audience. As long as the enemy’s will to fight is deprived and defeated, the war is won. Cognitive domain warfare uses human will, spirit, psychology, etc. as the target of confrontation, strengthening one’s own will while weakening the enemy’s will, thereby achieving the political goal of conquering the heart and mind. In this sense, the cognitive domain is the key domain for transforming military advantage into political victory. As war accelerates its evolution toward intelligence, cognitive quality advantages bring decision-making and action advantages, which can not only occupy the moral and legal high ground and create a favorable situation of justice and legality, but also realize small wars through hybrid warfare and comprehensive game means. Even the purpose of winning without fighting. Especially in the context of great power competition, the cost of war is high. All parties hope to intensify the competition for cognitive domains and force their opponents to retreat in a “humane” and “economic” manner.
By changing the opponent’s perception, it can change its decisions and actions
The purpose of implementing cognitive attacks is to use an “invisible hand” to control the opponent’s will, making the opponent feel “I can’t” and “I dare not”, and then achieve the effect of “I don’t want to”. Foreign military practice has shown that cognitive attacks on people’s will, beliefs, thinking, and psychology can be long-term cultural implantation, information suppression in the form of “information ocean + covering one’s mouth to silence”, or preemptive speech. Active shaping of political power can also use historical grievances to provoke the outbreak of conflicts. At present, information technology, artificial intelligence technology, and media technology have strengthened their direct effects on the cognitive domain. Using intelligent generation software, a large amount of cognitive “munitions” can be produced to accurately act on the cognitive layer of combat targets, directly imposing “will” to rivals” and quickly change the strategic situation. Looking forward to the informationized and intelligent battlefield, situational awareness forces and platforms are widely distributed in combat domains such as land, sea, air, and space networks. Cognitive behaviors such as planning, decision-making, and control dominate operations in various combat domains, especially the cognition of human-machine hybrids in future intelligent warfare. Advantages will dominate the battlefield. Cognitive interference, cognitive confusion, cognitive blocking and other means can be used to create a “fog” of war cognition, inducing opponents to misjudge the situation and make wrong decisions and actions.
Cognitive domain operations are full-time offense and defense, full personnel coverage, full use, full domain shaping, and full government action
Cognitive domain operations are all-round, multi-level, hyper-temporal, and cross-domain. They blur the boundaries between wartime and peacetime, front and rear, cross battlefields and national boundaries, go beyond the pure military field, and widely penetrate into politics. , economy, diplomacy and other social fields, showing the characteristics of “five completes”. Full-time offense and defense, there is no distinction between peacetime and wartime, and there is no difference between the front and the rear. It is expressed as being online all the time and in war all the time. Covering all personnel, anyone, including intelligent robots, may become the target of cognitive domain operations. It is used throughout the whole process of joint operations before and during the war. Before the joint military operation is launched, the cognitive shaping operation has begun and will accompany the military operation and will not stop with the military operation. Global shaping, cognitive shaping runs through all levels of strategy, operations, and tactics, and its scope covers all domains of land, sea, air, and space networks. Cross-domain empowerment has an impact on all-domain operations. As a whole-of-government action, cognitive shaping is naturally strategic and requires consistent and coordinated actions across departments, fields, military and localities, and levels to achieve the best communication effect.
The key is to seize control over the right to define the nature of an action or activity, the right to dominate the process, and the right to judge the outcome.
The cognitive game struggle involves multiple opposing parties and seems complicated. The key is to compete for the “three powers” in the cognitive domain. First, fight for the right to define the nature of the event. That is, how to view this incident, whether it is just or unjust, legal or illegal. Usually, pre-emptive definitions, group alliances and forced definitions, information suppression and unilateral definitions, setting issues and applying definitions are usually adopted to guide and shape the public to form qualitative perceptions. Second, compete for dominance over the event process. That is, how to do something, how not to do it, who did it right and who did it wrong, usually by setting up a trap and other methods, trying to dominate the development direction of the target event according to the state that one’s own side expects. Fast and slow, pause, continue and end. Third, compete for the right to judge the outcome of the incident. That is, how to evaluate this matter, who is the gainer and who is the loser, who is the immediate loser, who is the long-term loser, etc. All parties are trying to control the outcome of the incident by amplifying the advantages to themselves and the disadvantages to the enemy. The purpose is to use the extended effect of the incident to continue to harm the enemy and benefit themselves.
Morality and legal principles are the focus of contention between all parties
Military operations have always paid attention to the principle of “discipline and reputation”. Although the shape of war is evolving at an accelerated pace, the essential nature of war as subordinate to politics will not change; the nature of war and the support of people’s hearts are still the key factors that affect the outcome of a war. On the battlefield in the cognitive domain, by occupying the commanding heights of politics, morality, and law, we can win the hearts and minds of the people and moral support, create a public opinion atmosphere in which moral support is abundant, and then seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy. In every war or conflict, whether it is the strong or the weak, whether the attacker, the defender, or a third party, all parties will try their best to seize cognitive dominance and the initiative of public opinion. They will do everything possible to package themselves with morality, focus on declaring a just position, and try to find ways to defend themselves. Qualify the war, justify the action, eliminate resistance, increase support, and create a favorable situation in which “righteousness” defeats “unrighteousness”. The strength balance between the two sides in the war is different, and the cognitive confrontation methods aimed at occupying the moral and legal high ground will also be different. Recent wars have shown that when a party has strong soft and hard power, that is, it has strong military strength, many allies and partners, and a large share of international voice, it often declares war in a high-profile manner; when military actions may trigger chain reactions, it is often handled in a vague manner. The word “war”.
Information is the basic “ammunition” for cognitive attack and defense
In the network information age, the way humans communicate continues to undergo complex and profound changes. On-site interactive interactions have gradually given way to online connections. Some large-scale social platforms have become the main battleground for cognitive games and the main channels for influencing public cognition. Using information as ammunition to fight for the right to block international networks and control discourse has become a common practice today. One of the main actions of confrontation. On these platforms, various short videos have become the “first scene” for the public to understand the war situation, and information travels faster than cannonballs. The use and blocking, dominance and regulation of platforms have become the focus of battles in the cognitive domain. All parties strive to spread and amplify their own propaganda, denounce and suppress the other party’s propaganda by manipulating social platforms, forming a “I say more, you say less” “A situation where “I’m right and you’re wrong” and “I can only say it and you’re not allowed to say it”. As users of large-scale social platforms, the public is influenced by and affects others in the process of “listening”, “speaking” and even “doing”, and unknowingly becomes the agents and attack props of those behind the scenes.
Military operations play a key supporting role in shaping cognition
The history of human war shows that military warfare is always the basic support of political contests, while psychological warfare is the effectiveness multiplier of military warfare. What cannot be retrieved on the battlefield cannot be expected to be retrieved at the negotiation table, let alone in the field of public opinion. In modern warfare, cognitive communication operations always go hand in hand with joint military operations. Mental warfare and military warfare influence and support each other. The trend of military warfare becoming mental warfare and mental warfare becoming military warfare is more obvious. From the perspective of war practice, it is absolutely impossible without military strength, but military actions alone are not omnipotent. Multiple victories on the battlefield are not a sufficient condition for victory in war. In the Vietnam War, although the United States “won every battle, it lost the entire war.” At the beginning of the 21st century, the United States fought successive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, winning battlefield victories but not political victory. By the same token, military victory does not mean winning public opinion, and winning the battlefield does not mean winning strategic victory. In modern warfare, two types of people play an increasingly important role: those who win by writing thousands of lines of code, and those who win by writing thousands of messages. The side with superior quantity and quality of these two types of personnel will often have a higher probability of winning.
Cognitive countermeasures technology is increasingly used directly in warfare
In past wars, the influence and effect on the cognitive domain were mainly transmitted to the cognitive domain level by level through a large number of damaging actions in the physical domain. With the development and breakthroughs of information communications, artificial intelligence, biocrossing, brain science and other technologies, new cognitive warfare tools and technologies are directly targeting military personnel. Cognitive countermeasures use not only traditional information warfare weapons, but also an arsenal of neural weapons that target the brain. By then, machines will be able to read human brains, and human brains will also be able to directly control machines. Intelligent command and control systems can directly provide battlefield situation and decision-making assistance. Realistic cognitive ammunition and precise audience placement will greatly enhance the social impact. Cognitive countermeasures technology is increasingly being used directly in warfare. The indirect cognition implicit in informatization is gradually transforming into a direct influence and control of people’s cognition. It can be said that with the support of advanced technology, cognitive domain operations can achieve political goals more directly and efficiently by building a modern network architecture and developing a data visualization platform to quickly understand the information environment and effectively influence target groups.
(Author’s unit: Institute of War Studies, Academy of Military Sciences)
The target of cognitive domain operations refers to the specific direction of cognitive domain operations. In cognitive domain operations, compared with combat objects, the problem solved by combat targets is precise targeting, which allows commanders to understand the exact coordinates of what to hit, where to hit, and to what extent. Only by deeply understanding the connotative characteristics of cognitive domain combat targets can we accurately find key targets through appearances and seize the opportunity in future operations.
Cognitive focus that affects behavioral choices
The cognitive center of gravity is the “convergence point” of the diverse thinking and cognition of cognitive subjects in war activities. As an active factor, it affects the cognitive process and behavioral results. Generally speaking, the cognitive factors that influence individual behavioral choices in war activities mainly include cognition of political attributes, cognition of interest associations, cognition of group belonging, cognition of risk and loss, cognition of emotional orientation, cognition of war ethics, etc. For war activities and the groups or individuals concerned about war activities, the cognitive focus that affects their attitudes, tendencies, and behaviors is not the same. Judging from the local wars and regional conflicts in the world in recent years, there are obvious differences in the cognitive focus of different groups or individuals. Politicians pay more attention to the recognition of political attributes and the recognition of interest connections, while those who may be involved in the war pay more attention to the recognition of risk and loss. And interest-related cognition, ordinary people pay more attention to interest-related cognition and emotion-oriented cognition, while people in other countries outside the region generally pay more attention to war moral cognition and group belonging cognition because their own interests will not suffer direct losses. In combat practice, foreign military forces are good at targeting the cognitive focus of different objects, accurately planning themes, and pushing relevant information to induce specific behavioral choices. For example, before the Gulf War, Hill Norton Public Relations Company concocted the non-existent “Incubator Incident”, using the daughter of Kuwait’s ambassador to the United States, Naila, as a “testimony” to show the “inhumanity” of the Iraqi army and induce the United States to The public’s understanding of ethics and morality further supported the US government in sending troops to participate in the Gulf War.
Style preferences that constrain command decisions
Cognitive style directly affects decision-making behavioral preferences. Cognitive style refers to an individual’s typical way of cognition, memory, thinking, and problem solving. According to command decision-making style preferences, commanders can be divided into calm cognitive styles and impulsive cognitive styles. Commanders with a calm cognitive style value accuracy but not speed in the decision-making process. They make high-quality decisions, but they are prone to falling into comparative analysis of various intelligence information sources and overemphasize the accuracy and objectivity of information analysis. Commanders with a calm cognitive style are often easily disturbed by numerous and diverse information stimulations during cognitive offensive and defensive operations on the battlefield, and their mental energy is easily disrupted and dissipated, which may delay combat opportunities. Commanders with an impulsive cognitive style value speed but not accuracy. They make decisions quickly but with low quality. They are easily agitated and prone to conflicts with team members. Commanders with an impulsive cognitive style are also prone to over-interpretation of ambiguous external security environments, and constantly look for “evidence” to strengthen and verify individual erroneous thinking, narrowing individual attention and leading to biased command decisions. In combat practice, foreign militaries pay more attention to analyzing the decision-making style of the commanders of combat opponents, and then select specific information to psychologically influence them. For example, during the U.S. invasion of Panama, when they besieged Panamanian President Noriega’s hiding place, the U.S. military repeatedly played rock and heavy metal music and used language that stimulated and humiliated Noriega to carry out cognitive attacks and psychological attacks, which devastated Noriega physically and mentally. Gradually collapse.
Backdoor channel to control thinking and cognition
Once a computer is infected with a “Trojan horse” virus, it will send a connection request to the hacker’s control terminal at a specific time. Once the connection is successful, a backdoor channel will be formed, allowing the hacker to control the computer as he wishes. Similarly, the human brain also has cognitive “backdoors” that can also be controlled by others. Cognitive psychologists have found that by sending information to the target object’s audio-visual perception channel, carefully pushing the information content recognized and accepted by the target object, catering to the target object’s existing experience memory, complying with the target object’s thinking habits, and stimulating the target object’s emotions Pain points can be controlled to interfere with the target object’s cognition and promote its instinctive emotional and behavioral reactions. With the support of cutting-edge cognitive science and technology, using two modes of automatic start-up and controlled processing of brain information processing, the target object can easily fall into a “cognitive cocoon”. In cognitive domain operations, individuals are immersed in a massive amount of artificially constructed information and are continuously provided with “evidence” to prove that their judgment and cognition are “correct”. Over time, an individual’s cognitive vision becomes smaller and smaller, and his ability to perceive the external environment gradually decreases. Eventually, he will not be able to see the truth of things, and he will be addicted to the “cognitive cocoon” and cannot extricate himself. In operations in the cognitive domain, foreign military forces often respond to the opponent’s cognitive bias on a certain issue and continue to push situational information and intelligence information through multiple channels that support the opponent’s “correct perception”, allowing the opponent to make command decisions. Mistakes and deviations occur.
attention-inducing sensory stimulation
Effective sensory stimulation is the primary prerequisite to attract the attention of the target object. The human brain will detect stimuli within the range of perception and respond in various ways. Experimental research in cognitive psychology has found that dynamic, dangerous, interest-related, survival safety, contrast and other types of information are more likely to attract the attention of the human brain. In the era of intelligence, the target object’s psychological cognitive process often follows the rules of “attracting attention, cultivating interest, actively searching, strengthening memory, actively sharing, and influencing others”. In combat, foreign troops often use exclusive revelations, intelligence leaks, authoritative disclosures, on-site connections, etc., and skillfully use exaggeration, contrast, association, metaphor, suspense, foil and other techniques to push information that subverts common sense, cognitive conflict, and strong contrast. information to attract the attention of the target audience. For example, the “Rescue of Female Soldier Lynch Incident” portrayed by the US military in the Iraq War and the “Gaddafi Golden Toilet” in the Libyan War were mostly based on stories familiar to the audience. The purpose and point of view were integrated into the storyline, which attracted a large number of audiences. people’s attention. In addition, the human brain also processes stimuli outside the range of sensory perception. In recent years, the military of Western countries has attached great importance to the research of subliminal information stimulation technology, and has developed subliminal visual information implantation technology, subliminal auditory information implantation technology, subliminal information activation technology, nervous system subconscious sound control technology, etc. , and continue to expand the application scope of neurocognitive science and technology in the military field.
A meta-value concept that generates cognitive resonance
In cognitive theory, cognitive resonance refers to information that crosses the cognitive gap between the two parties and can arouse the ideological, psychological and cognitive resonance of both parties, thereby achieving the deconstruction and reconstruction of the other party’s cognitive system. In cognitive domain operations, this cognitive energy concentration effect is not a concentration of power in a simple sense, but an internal accumulation of the combined force of the system. Under the diffusion of modern information media, this cognitive resonance effect can quickly spread to all parts of the world in a short period of time, and produce secondary indirect psychological effects or more levels of derivative psychological effects, showing a cumulative and iterative effect. Once the state exceeds the psychological critical point, it will show a state of psychological energy explosion, thereby changing the direction or outcome of the event. The targets that can induce this kind of cognitive resonance include value beliefs, moral ethics, common interests, etc. In a war, if one party touches or violates human meta-values, common emotional orientation, etc., it can easily trigger collective denunciation, bear the accusation of violating human morality, and fall into a moral low. For example, a photo from the Vietnam War showed a group of Vietnamese children, especially a 9-year-old girl, running naked on the road after being attacked by napalm bombs from the US military. In 1972, this photo caused a huge sensation after being published, setting off an anti-war wave in the United States and even around the world, accelerating the end of the Vietnam War.
The cognitive gap that splits the cognitive system
In daily life, seemingly hard steel is easily broken due to the brittleness of the material due to factors such as low-temperature environments, material defects, stress concentration, and so is the cognitive system. Cognitive gaps refer to the cracks, pain points, weaknesses and sensitivity points in the cognitive thinking of the target object. It is mainly manifested in the individual’s worry that he or she is unable to cope with or adapt to the environment, and under the influence of anxiety, it constitutes cognitive vulnerability. . The experience of security threats, loose group structure, confusion of beliefs and ideals, and the loss of voice of authoritative media, etc., will all cause cognitive conflicts and tears among the target objects. In cognitive domain operations, sometimes a seemingly powerful opponent has a lot of mental gaps and psychological weaknesses hidden behind it. Often a news event can shake the opponent’s cognitive framework and burst the cognitive bubble. In addition, this kind of cognitive and psychological conflict will also cause moral damage and psychological trauma to individuals. In recent years, U.S. and Western military forces performing overseas missions have faced “enemies disguised as civilians” appearing anytime and anywhere. Their uncertainty about the battlefield environment has continued to increase. They generally lack a sense of the significance of combat and are filled with guilt and guilt. A large number of soldiers develop war post-traumatic stress disorder, self-injury on the battlefield, post-war suicides and crime surge, and the number of suicides among war veterans even exceeds the number of battlefield deaths.
(Author’s unit: School of Political Science, National Defense University)
●Cognitive domain operations focus on full-dimensional attacks, including both “peacetime” cognitive penetration and “wartime” cognitive coercion.
●Wartime cognitive domain operations revolve around the achievement of military objectives, and are implemented in conjunction with military operations to support each other.
●In cognitive domain operations, as the sound of gunfire dissipates, the horn of a new round of cognitive domain operations may sound again, and there must be no slacking off.
Cognitive domain warfare is a confrontation at the level of conscious thinking. Through selective processing and transmission of information, it affects judgment, changes concepts, and competes for people’s hearts, thereby guiding the real situation to develop in a direction that is beneficial to oneself. From the perspective of cognitive shaping, cognitive domain operations focus on full-dimensional attacks, including both “peacetime” cognitive penetration and “wartime” cognitive coercion. Therefore, cognitive domain operations have no clear boundaries between peace and war; at the same time, according to the needs of political or military purposes, its targets can be individuals, organizations or even countries. Therefore, cognitive domain operations should establish the concepts of peacetime and wartime integration, military-civilian integration, cross-domain integration, and joint victory, and sort out basic tasks accordingly.
Focus on ideological layout tasks
Ideology is “an ideological system that systematically and consciously reflects the socio-economic formation and political system.” Ideology determines the rational foundation of cognition and has distinct camp characteristics. Although ideology covers all aspects of social life, in confrontations between countries or political groups, the struggle around belief guidance, attitude struggle, and concept assimilation is particularly fierce, and has become a focus of cognitive domain operations.
Shape and guide political cognition and seize control of belief and establishment. Confrontation between countries or political groups is not only a confrontation of national strength, but also a confrontation of national aspirations. The confrontation of political beliefs bears the brunt. Shaping and guiding political cognition aims to condense or destroy political consensus, strengthen or shake political beliefs, and expand or dissolve political camps. In cognitive domain operations, through cognitive guidance on the legitimacy of the ruling party, the rationality of political ideas and systems, and the health of the political ecology, we cultivate recognition, denial, and support of political positions, beliefs, practices, etc. Or hatred and other emotions, laying out a political cognitive layout that is beneficial to oneself and detrimental to the enemy. Political cognition is related to the survival foundation of a country or organization and is the primary focus of cognitive domain operations.
Shape and guide war cognition and seize the right to lead war attitudes. A country can be without war, but it cannot be without a sense of war. War cognition is the basis for the formation and development of the will, concepts, psychology, and thinking of individuals, organizations, and countries in the war cycle. Through cognitive guidance on the essence, nature, legal concepts, etc. of war, we build a war cognitive thinking system, guide the evaluation direction of the rationality, justice, and legality of war, promote the formation of support or opposition attitudes towards possible wars, and regulate The rise and fall of willingness to assume war obligations is a key issue in cognitive guidance of war. War cognition affects war attitudes, and the struggle for its control is a task that must be paid attention to in cognitive domain operations.
Shape and guide value cognition and seize control of emotions and will. Values influence people’s judgment of beauty and ugliness, right and wrong, and social behavior orientation. In terms of identifying things and judging right and wrong, human emotions always tend to support claims with similar values. Value cognition permeates every corner of life. Through the dissemination of ethical concepts, standards of beauty, ugliness, good and evil, literary and artistic opinions, etc., competition for the right to guide values, the right to guide life patterns, and the right to judge traditional inheritance is frequent and fierce. . In real life, different values often interpenetrate and entangle with each other. The essence of shaping and guiding value cognition is to strive for social and emotional recognition, which is a regular task in cognitive domain operations.
Pay close attention to social psychology and the task of building momentum
Social psychology provides a perceptual and experiential basis for cognition. It is formed on the basis of daily life, social activities, practical insights and other experiences. Social psychological guidance often promotes unpredictable changes in the actual situation. It is one of the usual modes of confrontation between the two sides, especially during non-military conflicts. It is also a task that must be paid attention to in cognitive domain operations.
Guide national psychology and regulate national emotions. National psychology is one of the social psychology that is most likely to cause conflicts and confrontations. Attacking national self-esteem can breed national inferiority complex and easily lead to disintegration. Improving national self-esteem can enhance national cohesion, but the expansion of national self-esteem can easily lead to the emergence of extreme racism, national chauvinism, etc.; the status, interests, and culture of different ethnic groups within the country Differences in people, customs, and lifestyles provide opportunities for people with ulterior motives to stir up ethnic antagonisms, while the same living space and cooperation process lay the foundation for eliminating prejudice and even cohesion and tolerance among ethnic groups. The result depends on the perception. Know the guide. National psychological guidance is sensitive and easy to lose control, and has a direct impact on social stability. It is a task that needs to be focused on in cognitive domain operations.
Guide group psychology and increase and eliminate oppositional consciousness. Groups generally refer to people of the same type, such as ethnicity, region, class, professional groups, even civil society groups, non-governmental organizations, etc. If groups are subjectively defined based on “convergence”, then the “differences” between groups exist objectively. This difference may be political and economic status, cultural thought, regional concept or other factors. Inducing the perception of differences and promoting the antagonism between different groups such as party opposition, regional opposition, professional opposition, rich and poor opposition, etc. will not only damage the internal unity of the country, but also accumulate and increase the dissatisfaction of all sectors of society against the political authorities, and instigate social mobilization. The turbulence and division left behind a foreshadowing. In cognitive domain operations, this kind of social psychology needs to be paid attention to.
Guide individual psychology and influence social emotions. In cognitive domain operations, individual psychological guidance is divided into two situations. One is the psychological guidance of important figures, such as sensitive professionals, public intellectuals, academic elites, successful business people, etc. The struggle for their political positions, emotional attitudes, etc. is an issue that both sides of the confrontation need to focus on. One is the use of phenomena that easily trigger individual psychological resonance. Such as public crises, major accidents, natural disasters and even some crimes and emergencies in life, intentionally inducing certain emotions may cause group polarization due to the herd effect of individuals, thus triggering changes in public opinion and even social unrest. Both of these aspects need to be paid attention to in cognitive domain operations.
Targeting the critical mission of wartime cognition
Cognitive domain operations begin before military operations and end after military operations. Wartime cognitive domain operations revolve around the achievement of military objectives, are implemented in conjunction with military operations and support each other, and are characterized by violent coercion. In this stage of cognitive domain operations, “offensive” and “defensive” actions are carried out simultaneously, the influence of weapons and propaganda effects are comprehensively effective, and methods such as “lure”, “attack”, “deception” and “control” are emerging one after another. This is the key to cognitive domain operations. critical stage.
Attack the mind and seize the will, force and induce cognition. Wartime cognitive attacks are mainly carried out to weaken the enemy’s will to resist and induce the enemy to make wrong decisions. Targeting the enemy’s decision-makers, front-line commanders, etc., use targeted attacks to shake the will to resist, and use information deception and interference to induce decision-making. Targeting armed forces, mainly the military, use force to shock and deter, and comprehensively use operations such as public opinion warfare and emerging technologies. Means are used to shake their belief in participating in the war, trigger their panic, undermine their military morale, and dominate their action patterns; targeting social support forces, conveying tough messages to undermine confidence through large-scale military exercises, equipment testing, propaganda of weapon lethality effectiveness, etc., and through selective Target strikes and dissemination of war situations can induce panic, and efforts can be made to gain understanding by publicizing one’s own humanitarian actions in the war and relevant international comments.
Build a strong line of defense and control the situation with concentration. The focus of cognitive defense in wartime is to build a strong defense line of “heart”, “will” and “intellect” to prevent the loss of fighting spirit under the stimulation of drastic changes in the situation or environment. Education and publicity are the basic approaches to cognitive defense in wartime. For the forces participating in the war, stimulate enthusiasm for participating in the war through mobilization and encouragement, clarify the truth by refuting rumors, establish the belief in victory by publicizing the results of the war, mobilize morale by setting examples, etc.; for the supporting forces, educate the justice, rationality, and legality of the war. Propaganda is used to establish a sense of mission, responsibility, and obligation among the people, to inspire a sense of hatred and hatred by exposing the enemy’s brutal behavior, to stimulate enthusiasm for supporting operations by publicizing the deeds of local governments participating in the war and supporting frontline operations, and so on.
Expand your camp and eliminate hidden dangers. Creating a favorable cognitive atmosphere and providing support for the expansion of one’s own camp is an important aspect that must be achieved in wartime cognitive domain operations. In particular, the fight for international support is mainly through political, diplomatic and other activities, but the widespread diffusion of one’s own positions, ideas, attitudes, etc. often leads to changes in international civil attitudes, which in turn affects decision-making at the political level. Provide support for your own camp expansion. In addition, wartime cognitive domain operations also have an important task throughout the war, which is to eliminate the adverse hidden dangers caused by various accidents in the war. Especially in the later stages of the war, as the destructive effects of war appear and spread, people’s cognitive system will be repeatedly impacted by different information. During this period, ideological guidance, social psychological shaping, and individual psychological counseling are required to work together to ensure the consolidation of the results. In cognitive domain operations, as the sound of guns dissipates, the horn of a new round of cognitive domain operations may sound again, and there must be no slacking off.
Judging from the latest local war practice, cognitive domain operations have become an important variable that profoundly affects the direction of war. In cognitive domain operations, all parties compete fiercely for control of public opinion, information guidance, and cognitive shaping. There are not only physical confrontations, but also competitions in virtual space, demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of “technology +” in the digital era. Exploring the way to win in cognitive domain operations is of great practical significance for controlling the initiative in cognitive domain operations and winning future wars.
Seizing control of the brain has become the ultimate goal of cognitive domain operations
The brain is the material basis of all thinking activities and the command center that influences and controls human behavior changes. Feeling, perception and consciousness constitute the three aspects of the world that the brain reflects. How to win the right to control the brain has increasingly become the focus of research and attention by all warring parties in the field of cognitive domain operations.
Actively fight for sensory control. Feeling is the reaction caused by the characteristics of objective things in the human brain, and is the basis for various complex psychological processes. With the rapid development of brain science, molecular biology, neurochemistry and other disciplines, humans have gradually gained the ability to intervene and control the brain at the physiological level. According to foreign experimental results, inhaling oxytocin will make people more trusting of others and more empathetic, thereby affecting a person’s prosociality and moral performance. In future operations, the warring parties will use physical stimulation such as sound, light and electricity, or chemical drugs to act on the target’s hearing, vision, smell and other sensory systems. They may even directly act on the human brain to stimulate the target’s brain. Specific emotional reactions can achieve cognitive influence and control on the physiological level.
Effective competition for perceptual suppression. Perception is a psychological process formed on the basis of sensation and reflects the overall image and surface connection of objective things. Among them, the individual’s attitude, motivation, interest, as well as past experience and future expectations are the key variables that affect the individual’s perception of the perceptual target. During wartime, warring parties aim at the target’s psychological doubts, weaknesses, and needs, seize favorable opportunities, and use specific information to emotionally influence, mentally induce, or disrupt the target’s perception in order to increase the target’s perception of the target. The expectation of war risks weakens their will to resist and their determination to fight, thereby achieving the purpose of subduing the enemy with a small war, less fighting or even no fighting.
Comprehensive competition for the right to shape consciousness. Consciousness is realized through psychological processes such as feeling, perception, and thinking, and is manifested as the unity of knowledge, emotion, and intention. The fundamental purpose of war is to force the enemy to surrender. Judging from the war practice at home and abroad in ancient and modern times, in order to win the right to shape consciousness, the warring parties will do their best to mobilize all available military power and comprehensively use political, economic, cultural, diplomatic and other means to carry out political disintegration and diplomatic measures against the enemy. Isolation, guidance of public opinion, and declaration of legal principles can trigger rational thinking, ethical resonance, or value recognition of target individuals or groups, thereby changing their worldview, outlook on life, and values, forming a relatively stable and long-term cognitive influence or control, thereby achieving “complete victory.” “the goal of.
Controlling information becomes the key to cognitive domain operations
The weapon and ammunition of cognitive domain operations is information. Mastering the initiative in the generation, identification, acquisition, dissemination and feedback of information is the key to gaining battlefield advantage in the cognitive domain.
Actively implement strong psychological stimulation to promote information penetration. Modern warfare is fierce and complex, with various elements of confrontation unfolding in multi-dimensional and multi-domain contexts, and fighter jets fleeting. The forces and methods acting in the cognitive domain must keep up with the development and changes of the battlefield situation, and make extensive use of strong psychological stimulation methods such as subliminal information implantation, acousto-optical electromagnetic psychological nuisance damage, and non-contact emotional control to take the initiative to induce the target. The subject’s emotions, will, thoughts, beliefs, etc. appear chaotic, confused or radically changed, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling and influencing the cognitive system of the target subject.
Extensive use of intelligent algorithms to achieve accurate push. As the Internet penetrates into every aspect of human life, everyone will leave massive amounts of data and information online. During wartime, warring parties will use modern information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and blockchain to analyze the target’s social data, trajectory data, financial data, online shopping records, search records, personal communication records and other network data. The information is deeply mined and associated to achieve a “cognitive portrait” of the target object, and the target object’s interest preferences, behavioral trends, interpersonal relationships and value orientations are systematically analyzed, thereby three-dimensionally grasping the characteristics of relevant individuals or specific groups. Then, with the help of intelligent algorithm technology, personalized and customized cognitive information is accurately pushed to the target object, thereby affecting the target object’s attitude, emotion and value judgment towards the war, thereby promoting the realization of one’s own combat objectives and political intentions.
Effectively aggregate social support systems to achieve overall linkage. The social support system is the material and spiritual help and support that a person can obtain from others in his or her social network. It is a key factor that affects and determines the emotional support and cognitive direction of an individual. It can be said that for the success of cognitive domain operations, it is crucial to obtain the support and assistance of the target’s social support system. With the help of modern information technology, we can effectively connect to the target’s relatives, friends, classmates, partners and other specific social relations. By exerting targeted influence on the above-mentioned relations, we can gain the understanding, support and trust of the other party, and mobilize the specific relations to When the target object exerts influence, it is easier to win the trust and acceptance of the target object, and it is easier for the target object to undergo cognitive changes, thereby achieving the purpose of cognitive influence and control on the target object.
Virtual space becomes the main battlefield for cognitive domain operations
With the continuous expansion of human virtual space, virtual space is becoming the main battlefield of modern warfare, especially cognitive domain warfare, which determines the outcome of future wars to a certain extent.
Emerging communication forms have become new means of warfare in the cognitive domain. With the continuous development of mobile Internet technology, emerging communication forms represented by social media have gradually become a new platform and mainstream position for cognitive confrontation. Judging from recent local wars, the status and role of social media has become more and more prominent. All warring parties use personal blogs, forums and other platforms to publish battlefield pictures, videos, and comments in real time, which has not only become a global mobile online media terminal. It has also become the main battleground for the value perception game among different countries and different factions around the world. Emerging communication forms such as social media, with their unique decentralization and interactivity characteristics, have broken the information monopoly and information control in traditional communication methods and spawned numerous product styles. While meeting people’s information needs, they are also Unknowingly changing people’s perceptions. It is foreseeable that social media will play an increasingly prominent role in cognitive domain operations in the future.
Cyberspace has become a new space for cognitive domain operations. Under the conditions of informatization and intelligence, the threshold of network technology has been greatly reduced, making it possible to watch the game in real time around the world. Modern warfare has developed from “living room warfare” in the television era to “handheld warfare” in today’s all-media era. Online live broadcast is more intuitive and richer than any form of battlefield reporting, and “global synchronicity” has become a prominent feature. Through live broadcasts on the Internet, videos and pictures of fierce battles between the two warring parties, as well as numerous burned tanks and armored vehicles, as well as homes destroyed by the war and refugees fleeing their homes, can be visually presented. People can see the micro-state of individual civilians and soldiers on both sides through the Internet. The “transparency” of the battlefield makes any attempt to conceal the truth and false statements more and more difficult. But on the other hand, the emergence of technologies such as intelligent voice cloning and video portrait simulation replacement means that what people see may not necessarily be “as seen” and what they hear may not be “as heard”. Cognition under online live broadcasts Domain operations add more room for possibility and imagination.
The intelligent network army has become a new force in cognitive domain warfare. The development of information networks has broken through the authenticity limitations of interpersonal communication, and it is difficult for us to determine whether the other end of the network is a real person. Based on the needs of large-scale interaction, intelligent, automated, and large-scale cyberspace robots are emerging. They are widely active in every corner of cyberspace. These intelligent network armies have the capabilities of intelligent recognition, intelligent response and even brain-like thinking. They are tireless and work around the clock. Intelligent network armies are becoming an important force in future cognitive domain operations. Judging from the current development trends of related technologies, major countries and even business organizations in the world are focusing on the potential prospects of network robots in group penetration, live broadcast follow-up, shaping public opinion, and managing network crises. In the flexible guidance of network intelligent robots, Increase research and development efforts on key technologies such as automatic acquisition of technology groups, automatic cultivation and group penetration, and provide intelligent and efficient technical support for public opinion guidance, cognitive shaping, and behavioral guidance and control by discovering and effectively utilizing the behavioral patterns of network users.
Most of the local wars and armed conflicts in recent years have been “hybrid” confrontations carried out in multiple dimensions and fields, emphasizing the use of military, political, economic and other means to implement systematic control in the dimension of comprehensive decision-making, creating all kinds of chaos in the dimension of international communication, and creating various chaos in the dimension of international communication. Conduct targeted strikes in the strategic focus dimension, actively shape the battlefield situation, and seek to seize the strategic initiative. In future wars, in order to successfully fight political and military battles and military and political battles, we should deeply grasp the characteristics and laws of offensive and defensive operations in the cognitive domain and improve our ability to fight the “five battles” well.
Be proactive in cognitive operations, shape the situation and control the situation, and fight proactively. Before the war begins, cognition comes first. With the continuous development and evolution of war forms, the status and role of cognitive domain operations continue to be highlighted. Aiming to win future wars, cognitive deployment should be carried out in advance. Through strategies, information, technology and other means and carriers, the physiological, psychological, values and other cognitive factors of target objects should be affected, intervened and manipulated, and cognitive attack and defense should be used to cover military operations and accurately Efficiently dominate cognitive space. Fully understand the importance of being first, grasp the definition and interpretation power of “narrative” flexibly and autonomously, emphasize pre-emption to win the initiative in the cognitive narrative struggle dimension, create a favorable situation in which legal principles are in hand and morality is on our side, and occupy the moral commanding heights.
Cognitive operations focus on attacking the heart, and implement layered strategies to fight precise battles. “Those who are good at fighting will benefit others without killing them.” In future wars, the combat space will extend to the deep sea, deep space, deep network and other fields, and the battlefield space and time will present the characteristics of being extremely far, extremely small, extremely intelligent and uninhabited, invisible, and silent. We should keep a close eye on cognitive gaps to improve effectiveness, and use methods such as big data simulation, artificial intelligence matching, and psychological model evaluation to analyze and control the key information of cognitive subjects to achieve effective penetration and early deterrence of cognitive subject information. Closely focus on cognitive blind spots to enhance penetration, target the ideological consensus points, psychological connection points, and spiritual pillar points that maintain the unity of powerful enemy alliances to carry out effective strikes, and use their cognitive differences and interest conflicts to achieve differentiation and disintegration at all levels.
Based on cognitive combat strategies, we must penetrate the entire territory and fight for deterrence and control. In future wars, the strategic competition and tactical confrontation between the two warring parties will be extremely fierce. We should pay close attention to the decision-making process and make comprehensive efforts to increase the opponent’s decision-making dilemma and form our own decision-making advantages. On the one hand, we must pay more attention to key nodes such as the enemy’s decision-making center, command hub, reconnaissance and early warning system, and use advanced strike methods to physically destroy these nodes. On the other hand, we must pay more attention to the “soft kill” effects of cognitive shaping, cognitive induction, cognitive intervention and cognitive control, and embed cognitive domain operations into “hard destruction”, which not only creates a strong deterrent through precise strikes with high-tech weapons, but also integrates new qualities The combat power is expanded to the cognitive dimension, thus forming an asymmetric check and balance advantage.
Cognitive combat information is king, expand the field and fight for support. Future wars cannot be separated from strong information support, and system integration should be accelerated to gain data advantages. First of all, speed up the construction of cognitive offensive and defensive operations theory library, database, talent library, case library, and tactics library, dynamically collect and update the current status of the enemy’s cognitive offensive and defensive operations capabilities, and provide all-round support for cognitive offensive and defensive operations. Secondly, speed up the creation of the integrated media communication matrix, improve the self-owned platform system, speed up the deployment of network platforms, focus on system integration and collaboration, break down the “barriers” of information interconnection as soon as possible, and achieve cognitive integration and sharing, and comprehensive results. Thirdly, accelerate the coupling and linkage of information and cognitive domain operations, vigorously develop core technologies such as neural network systems, artificial intelligence applications, cognitive decision-making, psychological attack and defense, mine and analyze cross-domain and heterogeneous cognitive information, and improve the information fusion system of cognitive means to win the future. War provides “clairvoyance” and “early ears”.
Cognitive combat coordination is the key, and multi-dimensional efforts are used to fight the overall battle. Future wars are joint operations carried out in land, sea, air, space, network, electromagnetic and other fields. System thinking should be adhered to, the awareness of collaboration should be strengthened, and the compatibility and coordination of cognitive domain operations and other military operations should be improved. For example, it can integrate human intelligence, geographical intelligence, open source intelligence, etc., quickly collect and process massive data, remove falsehoods while retaining truth, seize cognitive space accurately and efficiently, achieve complementary advantages, and form cognitive advantages through full domain coverage. By networking dispersed multi-domain forces, we can establish an all-domain joint force with high connectivity, collective action, and overall attack to achieve the effect of “integrated deterrence.” By integrating national resources, strengthening strategic communication, using cognitive momentum to amplify the effects of political disruption, economic sanctions, and diplomatic offensives, and cooperating with military operations to put pressure on target targets in an all-round way, we strive to defeat the enemy without fighting.
(Author’s unit: University of Aerospace Engineering)
The military electronic sandbox is a modern information system platform that can grasp the three-dimensional battlefield space situation, implement efficient command, and support scientific command training. Its core is to use geographical information technology, military simulation technology, advanced display technology, etc. to replace traditional maps and sandbox tools to achieve The integrated display of geographical information and situational information allows commanders to deeply understand the combat environment. With the assistance of the command operation system, it greatly improves the command’s decision-making capabilities and response speed, and improves the quality effect of command training.
The software platform of the military interactive electronic sandbox system is the core of the electronic sandbox system. Its working principle is to access multi-source external data, integrate, process and store data, analyze data based on business needs, and dynamically display data in two or three dimensions. Therefore, the data processing platform is the foundation, and the data access platform and visual display platform are the support. The visual display terminal is the most intuitive cognitive image of the electronic sandbox, including mobile terminals, desktop terminals and large-screen display terminals. Among them, large-screen display terminals can support multi-point infrared touch and are the main form of human-computer interaction.
1. System introduction
In military applications, electronic sandbox systems are generally deployed in fixed command centers or mobile command posts. They are an important part of the command training system. Their basic functions are two- and three-dimensional geographic information display and battlefield simulation.
In order to achieve the effect of stable integration of the electronic sandbox and the real environment, for example, a multi-channel interactive system is constructed based on multi-AI methods to provide commanders with a more efficient and natural interaction method, thereby improving the commander’s command efficiency. Achieve full-element, multi-category, multi-level, and multi-granularity three-dimensional real-scene holographic display, provide commanders with intuitive and realistic battlefield situation elements, and provide the ability to observe the situation from multiple perspectives and directions, helping to grasp the overall situation and ensure the smooth operation of combat missions Complete it in time to improve combat effectiveness. The military plotting electronic sandbox is based on natural interaction (including voice, movement, gesture, line of sight, etc.), augmented reality, collaborative plotting and other technologies, and allows commanding combatants with different roles to conduct virtual and real interactions and collaborative discussions in real command posts. , jointly plotting, formulating plans, etc. to provide technical support, which will become a strong driving force for the leapfrog development of electronic sandboxes.
The multi-dimensional interactive military plotting electronic sandbox developed by a company is based on a practical perspective and is compatible with the terrain description function of the traditional physical sandbox and inherits the geographical information display function of the traditional electronic sandbox. It is oriented to the combat and training needs of senior commanders and focuses on achieving Through the interconnection of the electronic sand table and other operating seats in the command center, a set of intelligent interactive command and training operating platforms are designed and proposed for command operations during wartime and for drills and drills in peacetime.
During wartime, the electronic sand table serves as the display and control terminal for the commander to command operations. It integrates the support information of combat elements at each operating seat, receives battlefield information in real time, displays two- and three-dimensional battlefield situation maps, and provides basic auxiliary means such as plotting, measurement, and calculation. At the same time, it is based on data Mining and artificial intelligence technology provide the commander with a combat plan that can be intelligently learned and adjusted and conduct deduction simulations to assist the commander in making combat decisions. In normal times, the electronic sand table serves as the command and control terminal for the chief’s training exercises. It has the functions of scenario setting and training guidance, and supports data recording, auxiliary evaluation, review deduction and historical data query in the entire process of training scenarios from formulation, deployment to training. At the same time, it can also be used as a research platform for personnel exchange and training in the command center and a service platform for the release, display, and application of military intelligence information.
The multi-dimensional interactive military plotting electronic sand table developed by a company is based on a two-dimensional geographical information platform and a three-dimensional digital earth, combining multimedia display and control technology, simulation visualization technology, network communication technology, massive data management technology and multi-touch technology. A new two- and three-dimensional interactive military simulation and simulation integrated platform.
The software platform is the core of the electronic sandbox system. Its working principle is to access multi-source external data, integrate, process and store data, analyze data based on business needs, and dynamically display data in two or three dimensions. Therefore, the data processing platform is the foundation, and the data access platform and visual display platform are the support. The visual display terminal is the most intuitive cognitive image of the electronic sandbox, including mobile terminals, desktop terminals and large-screen display terminals. Among them, large-screen display terminals can support multi-point infrared touch and are the main form of human-computer interaction.
Working principle diagram of military interactive electronic sandbox system
(1) Infrastructure layer
The infrastructure layer is the basic environment that supports system operation, including graphics workstations, storage devices, computing devices, network devices, display devices, operating systems, etc. It provides a unified, high-speed, and secure basic network and host operating platform for the prototype system.
(2) Basic service layer
The basic service layer is the data resource carrying and basic service providing layer of the system. It supports the platform application layer and provides basic functions such as database management system, communication manager, and specific engines. On this basis, it develops and provides business-related basic services. Core services include geographical information services, data access services, situation display services, simulation deduction services, interconnection services, military marking services, etc. Service types can be customized and developed according to needs to meet the needs of different business applications.
(3) Platform application layer
Including business platform and user-oriented application plug-ins. The business platform includes a data access platform, a data processing platform, and a visual display platform.
(4) Data access platform
It is used to access, process, store and distribute various types of information and build a customized professional military intelligence database. Specifically, it is able to receive data from different sources, formats, and characteristics on combat processes, comprehensive support, geographical information, simulations, and other data, and integrate them logically or physically to provide information for situation display, combat discussions, command decisions, training evaluation, etc. Different applications provide data support. In peacetime, all kinds of basic military information, such as equipment information, personnel information, position information, target information, combat plans, etc., are collected, processed into a data format that can be called by the data processing platform, and saved in the form of local storage or cloud storage; During wartime, the meteorological and hydrological, electromagnetic environment, geographical environment, and humanistic environment data from each operating seat of the command center, the real-time location and attributes of personnel and equipment on the battlefield, Beidou information, video information, etc. are accessed in real time and processed into a data processing platform. The data format of the call.
(5) Data processing platform
With geographical information data as the background, various types of data from the data access platform are received or called, and a situation map is constructed to realize the visualization of the enemy’s situation, our situation, battlefield environment, target analysis, action progress, plotting and intervention process. On this basis, it provides standardized interfaces to achieve effective data connection with other systems, ensures function expansion and access to other systems, supports customized development of business application plug-ins, and provides support for the expansion of combat command business. In peacetime, based on the accumulated data, a simulated battlefield situation is constructed, combat plans and plans are formulated, exercises, training and simulations are conducted, and relevant results are stored in the data access platform for use in wartime.
(6) Visual display platform
Based on the independent 3D simulation engine, real-time rendering generates a 3D battlefield environment that is consistent with the combat and training areas. It uses structured data technology and flexible and editable logical data models to realize “layered” information data fusion display and output, and realizes multiple Click on infrared touch control and voice control, etc.
(7) Platform plug-ins
Relevant plug-ins are designed to meet the needs of operational planning, including functional plug-ins for data connection and management, process analysis and display, and program deduction and evaluation. They are customized to realize the connection and comprehensive management of operational planning business data. A “one picture” comprehensive display of the battlefield environment and battlefield situation during the combat process, as well as a comprehensive simulation deduction and display of various plans for reconnaissance, troop operations, battlefield defense and fire strikes involved in the combat process.
3. System composition
(1) Data engine
1. Diverse data
Supports massive, multi-source data processing, mainly including: images, vectors, DEM, 3D models, sea maps, land maps, aerial maps, etc.;
2.Data update
Supports rapid updating of multi-level mixed-precision geographical data;
3.Data distribution
Support data distribution based on C/S mode and quickly build electronic sandbox;
4.Data access
Supports distributed deployment and access of massive data from multiple sources, and can access cloud data.
(2) Comprehensive display and control
1.Full space expression
Supports full-space, multi-view, and multi-granularity simulation visual expression;
2. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional integration
Supports two- and three-dimensional integrated visual expression;
3.Multi-touch
Support new human-computer interaction methods based on multi-touch technology;
4. Interactive annotation
Supports interactive annotation of 3D models, landmarks, paths, regions, 360 panoramas and mounting of multimedia information.
(3) Sand table situation
1. Situation visualization
Supports multi-target and multi-batch battlefield situation visualization, and has functions such as scene saving and playback;
2. Diverse data sources
Compatible with multi-source surveillance data such as GPS, Beidou, radar, and AIS, and has an expandable data interface;
3. Editing and deduction
Supports 2D and 3D integrated editing and deduction of situational scenarios;
4. Situation special effects library
It has a rich library of battlefield simulation effects such as flame, explosion, smoke, infrared, electromagnetic, and radar.
(4) Military standard drawing
1. Collaborative plotting
Supports multi-person and multi-client synchronous and asynchronous collaborative military plotting;
2. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional plotting
Supports 2D and 3D simultaneous plotting and editing of military standards;
3. Sketch drawing
Supports intelligent recognition and plotting of sketches;
4.Same screen plotting
Supports multi-person 3D model plotting and editing on the same screen;
5. Military standard deduction
It has the function of 2D and 3D military standard situation deduction.
(5) Simulation engine
1. Natural environment simulation
Professional game-level rendering, supporting natural environment simulations such as three-dimensional clouds, fog, rain, snow, seawater, etc.;
2. Meteorological numerical simulation
Supports efficient processing, analysis and numerical simulation of large-scale, multi-source battlefield meteorological environment data;
3. Simulation deduction
Use human-computer interaction to deploy and perform deductions on deduction targets, and can expand simulation algorithms and combat rules;
4.Effectiveness evaluation
Supports assessment of operational effectiveness.
(6) Collaborative discussion
1. Electronic whiteboard
Distributed collaborative discussion and plotting based on electronic whiteboard, supporting conventional graphics, military standards, multimedia files, etc.;
2. Video conferencing
It has conference room mode collaborative discussion functions based on text, voice, and video communication to improve communication efficiency;
3. File sharing
Supports file sharing such as txt, PPT, PDF, picture files, compressed files, videos, etc.
(7) Software and hardware integration
Supports perfect integration with desktop interactive hardware;
Supports perfect integration with multi-touch hardware;
Support integration with video conferencing system hardware;
Support cross-platform applications.
(8) Key functional indicators
It has the display effects, fault simulation, and data connection functions of the existing aviation police information reconnaissance system; it has the functions of world sea and air area division display and air defense identification zone;
Have the ability to quickly configure existing business data into learning resources, and quickly configure learning resources and learning duration based on professional knowledge learning templates;
It has a variety of preset scenarios for sand table deduction and a variety of countries, including the United States, India, Japan and other countries;
Supports multi-source massive data storage, processing and update functions.
(9) Advantages and Features
1. Complete industry solutions
The electronic sandbox solution involves sandbox data processing, import, update, sandbox information sharing, collaborative work, command decision-making, military plotting, simulation, sandbox deduction and other related contents. The functions remain relatively independent and can be customized according to user needs. Professional solutions to meet the diverse needs of users;
2. Massive data management capabilities
Geographic information data is the core of the electronic sandbox. The data engine can store, process and update multi-source and massive geographical information data, supports distributed deployment of data, can access cloud data, and provides low-cost and efficient methods for the construction of sandboxes. Data Sources;
3. Integrated application
It achieves the perfect combination of software and hardware integration, supporting multiple hardware platforms such as multi-touch screens, command and control stations, circular projection screens, dedicated display and control stations, production monitoring platforms, etc.; the software realizes two- and three-dimensional integrated applications. , and integrates video conferencing, network communication, military plotting and other functions, it is a multi-functional comprehensive electronic sandbox system;
4. Good openness and compatibility
The system architecture is reasonably designed, has a good organizational structure and an easy-to-use development interface; it has good compatibility with hardware, can carry out secondary development and function expansion, and can be quickly integrated with other software systems.
4. Conclusion
With the deepening of informatization construction, the sources and types of information are increasingly expanding, and decision-making support methods are constantly enriched. According to the needs of combat training and command decision-making of various services and arms, a complete set of command decision-making analysis, mission deduction and situation display has been established. A functional electronic sandbox system has become a top priority. In response to the needs of BD, this electronic sandbox system developed by a certain company has intuitive comprehensive situation display, rich and diverse interactive methods, flexible combat data access, complete functions and expansion, which can meet the commander’s operational command and command training needs.
Chinese Military Analysis of Developing Intelligent Command Information Systems
資料來源:解放軍報 作者:李建平 紀鳳珠 李琳 責任編輯:王鳳 2022-08-09 12:OO
外文音譯:
Introduction
The era of intelligent warfare has begun. Command information systems with intelligent characteristics will become the “central nerve” of future intelligent combat command and the supporting means for intelligent combat command and control. Accelerating the construction of intelligent command information systems is an inherent requirement for the development of military intelligence. Only by clarifying the essentials of the development of intelligent command information systems, grasping the key points of research and development of intelligent command information systems, and exploring the key points of the development of intelligent command information systems can we better develop Promote the construction and development process of intelligent command information systems and win the opportunity to win future intelligent operations.
Clarify the essentials of the development of intelligent command information systems
Intelligent command information systems are an inevitable choice for the development of information-based and intelligent warfare. They are the inevitable result of the development of the scientific and technological revolution, and are also the demands of the times for the development of military intelligence. Clarifying the essence of the development of intelligent command information systems will help to grasp the direction of the construction of intelligent command information systems and establish long-term goals for system development.
Promote the intelligent evolution of warfare. In future intelligent operations, the battlefield situation will change rapidly and the battlefield environment will be complex and harsh. If you want to take the initiative on the battlefield, “intellectual power” will become the new commanding heights, and intelligent command information systems will undoubtedly be an important support for future combat command and operations. Its intelligent development can promote the evolution of warfare into intelligence, and is an important basis for intelligent warfare to gain the upper hand and seek victory.
Support intelligent innovation of combat concepts. Future intelligent operations require corresponding combat command concepts, and the intelligent command information system is an important basis for the practical application of combat command concepts and the soil for the innovation and development of intelligent combat command concepts. New concepts of intelligent combat command such as human-machine hybrid command grouping, data-driven command activities, open development command model, and intelligent concentrated command process are all inseparable from the support of intelligent command information system. Intelligent command information system will serve as a human The extension of the brain breaks through the physiological limits of the human body and realizes the organic integration of combat command art and intelligent technology.
Promote intelligent transformation of combat methods. The widespread application of artificial intelligence technology in the military field has caused major changes in the mechanism of combat victory. Intelligence surpasses firepower and information power and has become the primary factor in determining the outcome of a war. The construction and development of intelligent command information systems will promote the transformation of combat methods to intelligence, making the combat methods transform from the “combat network + precision guided weapons” in the information age to the “intelligent Internet of Things + manned/unmanned combat platforms” in the intelligent age. The combat style has accordingly evolved from “network-centric warfare” to “cognition-centric warfare”.
Seize the key points of research and development of intelligent command information system
The command information system is a product of the era of informationized warfare. With the rapid development of military intelligence and the research and practical application of intelligent combat winning mechanisms, the intelligent upgrade and construction of the command information system is urgent. The key points of functional research and development should be highlighted to create a new intelligent command information system.
“Super brain” assisted decision-making. In future intelligent operations, the amount of battlefield information data will be huge and complex. Commanders will easily fall into the “information ocean” during the command process, leading to information confusion and affecting command decisions. With the emergence of intelligent auxiliary decision-making technology and “cloud brain” and “digital consultants”, a new decision-making model based on “human brain + artificial intelligence” collaboration is quietly taking shape. The intelligent command information system will break through the limits of human intelligence, serve as an extension of the human brain, assist commanders in their work, and develop war decision-making from pure human brain decision-making to super-brain command decision-making of “human brain + artificial intelligence”.
“Full-dimensional” situational awareness. In future intelligent operations, the space will be multi-dimensional, the forces will be diverse, the styles will be diverse, and the pace will accelerate. Comprehensive and flexible grasp of the battlefield situation will become the basis for commanders’ decision-making. Multi-domain integration, intelligent and dynamic presentation of the full-dimensional battlefield situation will become the construction and development of command information systems. Necessary requirement. The command information system’s perception, understanding, fusion and prediction of battlefield situations such as target identification, threat level estimation, combat action prediction and future battle situation prediction are expanding from land, sea, air, space, electromagnetic, network and other spaces. to the cognitive domain and social domain to achieve “full-dimensional” situational awareness.
“Intelligent” network communication. In the future, intelligent operations will use a large number of intelligent command and control platforms and intelligent weapon platforms, and the connection between command and control platforms and weapon platforms must be intelligent information communication systems. Like the nerves and blood vessels of the human body, intelligent information and communication systems play a linking and lubricating role in intelligent operations. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a full-dimensional coverage, uninterrupted intelligent information network to support the connectivity and control of intelligent equipment, and form intelligent optimization of network structure, intelligent reorganization of network invulnerability, and intelligent anti-interference capabilities to ensure intelligent collaboration between platforms Combat and exert the best overall combat effectiveness.
“Unmanned” autonomous collaboration. In recent local conflicts around the world, drones have been widely used and played an important role in determining the direction of the war, which has attracted widespread attention from all parties. Unmanned weapons and equipment are the material basis for intelligent warfare, and have formed subversive combat styles, such as intrusive lone wolf operations, manned/unmanned coordinated system attack operations, unmanned system formation independent operations, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Swarm combat, etc. Although unmanned combat is led by humans, machines are given a certain degree of autonomous action authority in the background, thereby enabling machines to perform unmanned combat operations on the front line. However, the unmanned combat battlefield is changing rapidly, and the destruction of human-machine collaboration will become the norm. The command and control system of the unmanned intelligent equipment platform must be smarter and be able to conduct autonomous coordinated operations according to the combat purpose.
“Active” information defense. Intelligent operations will inevitably face all-dimensional and diverse information attacks from powerful enemies. The level of information security protection capabilities directly affects the outcome of the battle for “intelligence control” on the battlefield, and is a key link in the construction of intelligent command information systems. Therefore, we should take the initiative to actively formulate and improve network protection strategies, enrich intrusion detection capabilities and authentication identification methods, strengthen the application of high-tech information security, strengthen the anti-interference and anti-intervention capabilities of various wireless transmission methods, and build and strengthen intelligent traceability response. control capabilities to effectively contain information attacks.
Explore the key points for the development of intelligent command information systems
The development of intelligent command information systems is not only a technological innovation, but also requires further emancipation of minds and updating of concepts. To promote the development of intelligent command information systems, we must change the traditional thinking of adding hardware, building a large “network”, and collecting and storing various types of data. We must break through the inherent hierarchical settings and create an open and service-oriented system to target the needs of intelligent combat command and operations. , explore and study the key points for the development of intelligent command information systems.
Innovative ideas. Adhere to the guidance of innovative thinking concepts, learn from the development ideas of intelligent command information systems of military powers, and explore a development path with its own characteristics based on actual needs. It is necessary to break the traditional “chimney building” approach, adhere to the top-level design and overall planning of the command information system, unify interfaces, protocols and standards, and form an open and sustainable system architecture layout; adhere to the system research and development ideas that combine research, construction and application, and formulate Develop strategies for different stages in the near, medium and long term to standardize the development direction of system construction; adhere to iterative upgrades, optimization and improvement strategies, and continuously improve the intelligence level of command and control, intelligence reconnaissance, communications, information countermeasures and comprehensive support to ensure intelligence The command information system continues to develop healthily.
Concentration is the key. Focusing on the key capabilities of the intelligent command information system is an important basis for intelligent warfare to gather superior intelligence and win with intelligence, and is the key to obtaining “victory power” for intelligent warfare. Algorithms, computing power, and data are not only the intrinsic driving force and support for the development of artificial intelligence, but also the core capability requirements and advantages of intelligent command information systems. The development of intelligent command information systems must adhere to algorithm innovation research to improve the system’s cognitive advantages, speed advantages and decision-making advantages; accelerate the research and development of next-generation computers represented by quantum computers to provide stronger computing power support for intelligent command information systems; Deeply explore the value of deeper and wider dimensions of information in massive combat data resources to seek opportunities for victory.
Gather wisdom to tackle key problems. The construction and development of intelligent command information systems is one of the main projects of military intelligence. It is a multi-domain, multi-disciplinary, multi-department and multi-unit participation project of great integration and linkage. The construction and development of intelligent command information systems must adhere to the spirit of teamwork, collective wisdom, and pioneering innovation, and target strategic and forward-looking fields such as sensors, quantum information, network communications, integrated circuits, key software, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Adhere to the promotion of high and new technologies and the demand for intelligent combat, carry out in-depth research and exchanges in multiple fields, multiple levels, and multiple forms, and continue to make breakthroughs, innovations, and iterative upgrades to make the intelligent command information system more complete and smarter.
Collaborative development. To further promote the construction and development of intelligent command information systems, we must fully absorb local advanced technological achievements and integrate into the current trend of world artificial intelligence innovation and development. At present, the world’s artificial intelligence technology is developing vigorously, accumulating strong development momentum and technological advantages. The application of artificial intelligence technology is highly versatile and has broad prospects for the transformation and application of technological achievements. It is an important way to realize the construction and development of intelligent command information systems. It is necessary to study and formulate general technical standards, tear down barriers, break ice, smooth military-civilian cooperation, and achieve shared linkage of technological achievements. It is necessary to cultivate and shape new types of military talents through collaborative training, so that they can continuously adapt to the needs of various positions under intelligent conditions and give full play to the effectiveness of intelligent command information systems.