22 February 2026

War on Minds: Artificial Intelligence and the Information Environment

Damian Dovarganes

Bottom Line Up FrontGenerative AI is hollowing out the information environment, creating a crisis of authenticity and trust that is both a result of and a facilitator for information operations by malicious actors. State and nonstate actors are naturally exploiting AI to scale information operations through mass synthetic content production, automated bot dissemination, and the manipulation of recommendation algorithms that feed netizens what they see on their digital feeds.

Large Language Models occasionally generate responses that directly link to websites and social media content that are verifiably part of a foreign information operation.
An AI-replete information environment erodes cognitive security, fostering confusion and mistrust to the point where audiences may cease believing any source at all, which various adversaries consider an end in itself.

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