<p>AI and the modern information ecosystem are making reality harder to verify, and easier to weaponize. This week, Elisa Poteat is joined by Gary Corn, Program Director and Adjunct Professor of Technology, Law and Security at American University Washington College of Law, to discuss his recent article, “<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&amp;context=research"><em>Cognitive Warfare: Generative AI, False Realities, and International Humanitarian Law.</em></a>” Together, they explore how cognitive warfare has been used throughout history, how deepfakes and synthetic media could accelerate its effects, and what international humanitarian law can, and cannot, do to address the risks AI poses to civilians, truth, and modern conflict.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.american.edu/wcl/faculty/gcorn.cfm">Professor Gary Corn</a> is Director of the Technology, Law &amp; Security Program and an adjunct professor of cyber and national security law and the law of armed conflict at American University Washington College of Law.</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&amp;context=research">Corn, Gary P. “Cognitive Warfare: Generative AI, False Realities, and International Humanitarian Law.” <em>American University Washington College of Law</em>, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/132/132-h/132-h.htm">Sun-tzu. <em>The Art of War</em>. Translated by Lionel Giles, Project Gutenberg, 1994.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4CGYNsoW2iD7QKVp9U-TffXSYtWB0zLo">Video Series: <em>Operation InfeKtion</em>. <em>The New York Times Opinion</em>, 2018.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/external/doc/en/assets/files/other/law1_final.pdf">The Law of Armed Conflict Overview</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-4">U.S. Constitution, Article IV: Relationships Between the States. <em>Legal Information Institute</em>, Cornell Law School.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://lieber.westpoint.edu/about/team/profile/?smid=6283">Gary Corn Articles of War Profile. <em>Lieber Institute for Law &amp; Warfare</em>, United States Military Academy at West Point.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000669956704">NSLT, Ep. 339, "Unchecked AI and the Exploitation of Personal Data: National Security Implications with Margaret Hu and Davi Ottenheimer (Part 1)"</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000754874789">NSLT, Ep. 411, "Russia’s War of Attrition: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains with Seth Jones"</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000761367303">NSLT, Ep. 416, "The Drone Disruption: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping the Battlefield with Dawn Zoldi"</a></li></ul>