Cognitive Warfare Below the Threshold: AI, Decision Speed, and the Future of Competition

Small Wars Journal | Yi Se Gwon

Iranian and Russian state actors are actively leveraging generative artificial intelligence to execute rapid, large-scale cognitive warfare campaigns below the threshold of kinetic conflict. These operations deploy highly realistic deepfakes and fabricated imagery to erode allied political will and disrupt democratic decision-making before traditional defense mechanisms can verify or debunk the threat.

This rapid democratization of digital manipulation tools bypasses conventional military response timelines, which remain bound to slower, legacy bureaucratic verification processes. To counter this, the Praxis AI Doctrine's Cognitive Warfare Operationalization Model offers a structured framework to integrate domain sensing, echelon scalability, and mission task execution. Furthermore, initiatives like Ukraine's March 2026 data-sharing initiative establish a collaborative training foundation, enabling allied special operations and interagency practitioners to build cognitive resilience and human-machine decision frameworks before the next major crisis. Ultimately, achieving cognitive literacy is now as critical for irregular warfare units as maintaining physical combat readiness.

Comment

The integration of machine vision and unmanned systems curricula at Russia's Voin Center reveals a shift toward a highly systematised, multi-generational approach to cognitive and physical domain warfare. By embedding these technical competencies into youth pipelines, Moscow is institutionalising a doctrine where artificial intelligence is treated not as an auxiliary capability, but as a foundational element of irregular operations. This educational pipeline ensures that future operators possess an inherent cognitive literacy, reducing the cognitive friction typically associated with adopting emerging technologies during active deployments. Consequently, the traditional boundary between civilian technical development and military application is effectively erased within Russian strategic planning.

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