Executive Summary

Neuro-Cognitive Warfare:
Accelerated Cultural Evolution (ACE)
To Prevent Terrorism and Mass Atrocities
Presented By:
Dr. Robert Finkelstein
President, Robotic Technology Inc.
BobF@RoboticTechnologyInc.com
Office: 301-983-4194

Presented To:
The Center for Strategic
Counterterrorism Communications
Office of the Under Secretary for
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520-0505

7 December 2012
This presentation is based on
research we performed for the
Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA),
2006-2012, and we thank
DARPA for their vision and
support
 THE PROBLEM
The long war against terrorism and the
ongoing conflicts with asymmetric adversaries
are, fundamentally, wars of ideas
We are losing the war of ideas
We are in an information war, and we're losing
that war. -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
[Our enemy] has said that 50 percent of the
current struggle is taking place in the arena of
public information. That may be an
understatement. -- Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld
Challenge disinformation. Turn our enemies
extremist ideologies, oppressive practices, and
indiscriminate violence against them. -- Gen.
David Petraeus, issuing guidelines for an
aggressive information war in Afghanistan
The other half [of the battle] is the arena of ideas,
and countering the rhetoric and methods that
extremists use to recruit. -- Ali H. Soufan, FBI Al
Qaeda interrogator
 THE PROBLEM
No people come into possession of a
culture without having paid a heavy price
for it. --- James A. Baldwin
Whoever controls the media, the images,
controls the culture. --- Allen Ginsberg
The central conservative truth is that it is
culture, not politics, which determines the
success of a society. The central liberal
truth is that politics can change a culture
and save it from itself. --- Daniel Patrick
Moynihan
Political language... is designed to make
lies sound truthful and murder respectable,
and to give an appearance of solidity to
pure wind --- George Orwell
War is peace. Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength --- George Orwell
 A SOLUTION SUMMARY
Accelerated Cultural Evolution (ACE) is a
subset of neuro-cognitive warfare; it is an
emerging discipline based on military
memetics, neuroscience, social science
(such as cultural anthropology), operations
research, and other fields
It is made possible by the results of recent
multidisciplinary experiments and new
technologies, such as memetic engineering,
functional magnetic resonance imaging of the
brain, social networking, neuro-marketing,
neuro-economics, and new social models and
simulations
ACE leverages low-cost tools and techniques
for prevention to avoid costly defense and
counter-terrorism operations and mitigate
human suffering
More scientific research is needed, but there
are sufficient valuable and useful tools to
synthesize them and begin applications
 A SOLUTION METHOD SUMMARY
Accelerated Cultural Evolution:
(1) Identify and prioritize dysfunctional
cultures at-risk for fomenting extremism,
violence, terrorism, and mass atrocities
Use tools and techniques of cultural
metric analyses and subject matter
experts (SME) (cultural anthropologists,
sociologists, foreign service experts,
historians, etc.)
(2) Identify and prioritize dysfunctional
values underlying the at-risk culture
Use neuroscience research results, SME,
value metric analyses
(3) Create a campaign to modify the
dysfunctional values: prevent the need
for a difficult long war
Use neuroscience research results,
memetics, neuromarketing, and social
networks
 A SOLUTION: TRANSFORMATION OF
DYSFUNCTIONAL CULTURE
We were not realizing that, with just a machete,
you can do a genocide -- Boutros Boutros-
Ghali
Military force is one way to stop terrorism
and mass atrocities, but it is an expensive
and violent solution
A comprehensive strategy must emphasize
prevention using new tools and techniques
To increase the peace and prosperity of
nations and prevent human suffering,
transform dysfunctional culture into
functional culture
ACE is the application of the tools,
techniques, and technology of
neuroscience, memetics, narrative
networks, neuromarketing, operations
research, and neuroeconomics to transform
dysfunctional cultures and subcultures
 THE PROBLEM: DYSFUNCTIONAL CULTURE
Not all societal problems are due to culture,
but the fate of many nations depends on
culture terrorism and mass atrocities often
arise from dysfunctional culture or
subculture
In the current technological age of human
existence, culture is a primary determinant of
how well people live their lives or how
much pain and suffering they must endure
Technology, and the consequent creation of
global wealth, means that human life is no
longer necessarily the Hobbesian solitary,
poor, nasty, brutish, and short
Factors that are less important for the failure
of modern societies: geography, resources,
weather, colonial conquest
Functional cultures provide well-being for
their members, while dysfunctional cultures
provide misery and suffering
 THE PROBLEM: DYSFUNCTIONAL CULTURE
The profound influence of culture remains
a sensitive topic despite a growing body
of evidence of the influence of culture on
individual and social well-being (e.g.,
health, safety, comfort, and happiness)
Culture can change:
Culture can change unintentionally and
organically, with punctuated equilibrium,
from major natural or man-made
catastrophic disasters, such as a
prolonged draught or war
Culture can change intentionally from
political leadership or arising from social
and technological pressure
Cultural can change more quickly and
predictably with ACE
 THE MEANING OF CULTURE
The tendency to aggression is an innate,
independent, instinctual disposition in man...it
constitutes the powerful obstacle to culture. ---
Sigmund Freud
Culture: the entire way of life of a group; a
repertoire of socially transmitted ideas about
how to live and make judgments; a set of values
and norms shared by a group
Values and norms determine the groups
memberss interactions with each other and with
people outside the group
Values: consist of general criteria, standards, or
guiding principles that people use to determine
which types of behaviors, events, situations, and
outcomes are desirable or undesirable; the bases
for making decisions, holding beliefs and
attitudes, and taking actions; the means of
culture
Norms: the methods of culture; practices,
standards, or styles of behavior considered
acceptable for people in a culture
 THE EFFECTS OF CULTURE
What connects two thousand years of
genocide? Too much power in too few
hands. -- Simon Wiesenthal
Culture provides guidance for living,
thinking, deciding, and doing
Children acquire culture through: active
participation, socialization, imitation,
teaching, preceding generations, peers,
and media
A culture and its foundational values
derive from common experiences and
heritage, whether experienced directly or
indirectly through internalization of the
narratives and metaphors which define the
culture
The failure of a culture is primarily due to
its dysfunctional values and norms
 THE DYNAMICS OF CULTURE
Culture drives behavior, such as preferences
in: food, religious practices, jobs, education,
social interactions, transactions, manners,
lifestyles, self-actualization, spouses
Culture determines tolerance and empathy:
how its members treat others within and
without the culture
Culture determines how people value:
Work or play
Cooperation or competition, individuality or
social conformity, self-centeredness or altruism
Independence or deference to authority
Tradition or change
Sectarianism or secularism
Optimism or pessimism
Critical thinking or magical thinking
Behavior towards: authority; peers; subordinates;
politics
 THE DYNAMICS OF CULTURE
Culture is passed on from generation to
generation by behavioral examples of family,
friends, and other members of the group
(tribe, sect, ethnic group, village, nation)
Culture is also shaped, exemplified, and
propagated by narratives (personal to social
to national; oral, written, and now multi-media)
The narratives include fables, legends,
mythology, poems, songs, oratory, novels,
movies, celebrated heroes (historical and
contemporary), religious stories, aphorisms,
graffiti, catch-phrases, and role models
The narratives are bolstered by semiotics,
including fine and popular art, and iconic
graphics (e.g., paintings, prints, advertising,
and graffiti)
 THE SENSITIVITY OF CULTURE
Culture is a sensitive issue for social
scientists:
Cultural relativism: one cannot judge
other cultures no matter how much
pain and suffering is inflicted on the
members of the culture there must be
a good reason for seemingly
dysfunctional cultural values and
norms
Ethnocentrism can bias an evaluation
Fear of being accused of bias or racism
or blaming the victims or being charged
with sullying a nation, ethnic minority,
or the personal self-esteem of the
populace
Reluctance to imply that some cultures
are better than others
Nevertheless objective metrics can be
defined to determine whether a culture
is functional or dysfunctional
 CULTURAL METRICS
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy
family is unhappy in its own way. --- Leo
Tolstoy
The primary metric for a human culture is
fitness: the ability of the culture to permit its
members to sustain life and achieve well-being
Reproduction is no longer a human imperative,
as it has been for most of human existence, so
members of a culture may seek well-being
because a pleasant life one free of pain and
suffering is better than an unpleasant life
A functional culture can be defined as one that
provides satisfactorily for human needs and
wants; a dysfunctional culture does not
Any culture or subculture that persistently
causes human suffering, irrational terrorism, or
mass atrocities is dysfunctional
There are many different values and norms that
can lead to functional or dysfunctional culture
 CULTURAL METRICS EXAMPLE
In a project for DOD we defined and
evaluated four cultural metrics which were
loosely based on Maslows Hierarchy:
Basic values: the degree to which the values
of the culture allow the typical member of the
society to live beyond mere subsistence
Personal values: those values which enable
an individual to acquire the skill, character,
and virtues needed to achieve personal
success, economically and emotionally,
enabling the individual to contribute to the
success (functionality) of the society
Social values: those values which strengthen
social relationships that contribute to the
success of the individual and the society
Aspirational values: those values which
motivate individuals to be ambitious, to try to
accomplish much as individuals and
members of society
 CULTURAL METRICS: BASIC VALUES
We defined and evaluated
submetrics for the Basic Values
metric:
Physiological Values
Examples: clean air and water,
nutritious food, warm clothing as
needed, and shelter that can
reasonably accommodate a family
and have access to sanitary toilet
facilities and fuel for cooking and
heat
Safety Values
Examples: freedom from fear of
bodily or psychological harm from
individuals, groups, or government
Health Values
Examples: general health,
availability of medical care, and
expected lifespan
 CULTURAL METRICS: PERSONAL VALUES
We defined and evaluated
submetrics for the
Personal Values Metric:
Cognitive Values
Examples: education,
rationality, and critical
thinking
Economic Values
Examples: hard work,
thrift, innovation, and
prudent risk-taking
Character Values
Examples: persistence,
diligence, punctuality,
self-esteem, and
achievement-seeking
 CULTURAL METRICS: SOCIAL VALUES
We defined and evaluated
submetrics for the Social Values
Metric:
Liberty Values
Examples: freedom of speech,
religion, and secularism (no
religion)
Relationship Values
Examples: ethics, honesty, trust,
tolerance, and social
consciousness
Patriotic Values
Examples: respect for justice and
law, political awareness, and
rational loyalty to family,
community, and nation
CULTURAL METRICS: ASPIRATIONAL VALUES
We defined and evaluated submetrics for
Aspirational Values metric:
Respect
Examples: self-respect and respect of
others
Success
Examples: joy and accomplishments from
work, wealth, and power
Self Actualization
Examples: the opportunity to try to make
the most of ones abilities, especially where
avocation is the same as vocation; and the
opportunity to pursue happiness in life
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)
A mathematical method to evaluate and
weight the metrics and submetrics
Can evaluate alternative cultures against
the metrics and submetrics
 NEUROSCIENCE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Neuroscience tools/techniques are used to:
Determine the precognitive and cognitive
processes that lead to decisions, values (the
bases of decisions), and behavior
Develop methods to influence decisions, values,
and behavior, such as neuroeconomics,
neuromarketing, memetics, narrative networks
Neuroscience tools and techniques can be
applied to mitigate dysfunctional culture and
prevent violence, terrorism, and atrocities
Neuro-imaging: Functional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (fMRI); Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Genetic and psychopharmacological analyses
Psychophysiology: electromyography (EMG),
event related potential (ERP),
electroencephalogram (EEG)
Blood chemistry and hormone analysis
Single neuron recording
Biometrics and eye tracking
 MEMETICS
Many definitions
Our pragmatic definition: a meme is
information which propagates, has impact,
and persists (INFO-PIP): where propagation,
impact, and persistence have been defined
as quantitative metrics
Memetics is the study and application of
memes
Military Memetics is the application of
memes for national security
It is a subset of Neuro-Cognitive Warfare, a
revolutionary tool in the information war
It can provide a coherent, scientific approach
for information operations, psychological
warfare, and the general war against terrorists
It can prevent extremism, terrorism, mass
atrocities; or mitigate irrational conflict,
reduce the probability of war or defeat, and
increase the probability of peace or victory
 MEMETICS
Example memes: words, narratives, ideas,
symbols, icons, logos, tunes, poems, catch-
phrases, fashion, technological processes (e.g.,
making arrowheads or gumbo), fables, religion,
graffiti, images, novels, movies, etc.
Memes can be described by their external
phenomena (e-memes) and internal phenomena
(i-memes)
E-memes are manifested by their effects on
human behavior and culture
I-memes are manifested by their effects on an
individuals neuronal behavior and brain
E-memes and i-memes are not two types of
memes, but rather two effects or manifestations
of memes
 MEMETICS
Applying memetics and the
epidemiology of ideas is a function of
biology, culture, and communications
Biology: knowledge of the human
brain through neuroscience tools and
techniques (fMRI, PET scans,
neurochemical reactions (e.g.,
dopamine, oxytocin), etc.
Culture: knowledge of culture and
cultural values, history, politics,
geography, linguistics, demographic,
and neuromarketing to each cultures
marketplace
Communications: knowledge of social
networking models, cyberspace,
broadcasting, narrowcasting, and
smart mobs via texting
 NARRATIVES
Narratives are a type of meme.
Narratives are critical in determining the
architecture and content of a groups culture or
subculture, whether the group is a family, clan,
tribe, ethnic group, religion, corporation,
institution, nation, or any other group
Narratives can strongly shape or modify a
culture: suitable narratives can alter a
dysfunctional culture, improve the lives of its
members, and prevent atrocities
A narrative is a story, whether long or short; past,
present, or future; with or without much detail;
and told for any purpose
Cultural narratives form and maintain cultures (of
nations or other groups), give a sense of identity
and purpose to members of a culture: what is our
past, why are we here, what should we do, and
what is our future?
National strategic narratives describe the core
interests of a nation and provide a foundation for
statecraft and national security
 NARRATIVES
Research shows that narratives are
fundamental to the human mind and
perception
Sensory data and consequent perception are
intermittent, with only the individuals
illusion and delusion of continuity and
coherence
Plagued with uncertainty and flawed
information, the subconscious mind creates
an illusion of a coherent narrative,
constructing relationships, motives, and
intentions based on limited or incorrect
information
The mind fills in details and revises its
narratives as needed, with or without
evidence, retroactively; the mind
autonomically, unconsciously, and
continuously constructs narratives, weaving
the weft of subjective reality among the
warp of physical reality
 NARRATIVES
Thus individuals create personal stories
about who they are and what the world is
like; narratives by which they live their lives
These individual narratives can aggregate and
evolve into cultural narratives influencing the
behavior of the family, clan, tribe, or nation
The structure, function, and ontology of
narratives are shaped by their building
blocks, including: metaphors, symbols,
symbolic actions, semiotics, myths, frames,
scenarios, etc.
For example: metaphors shape and express
cultural thought and style as embedded in
language, artifacts, and behavior
Metaphors shape ideology and religion and
can spark insurgencies or mass atrocities
and genocide
 NEUROMARKETING

We are not thinking machines that feel,

we are feeling machines that think. ---
Antonio Damasio
There is no universal agreement as to
what does or does not constitute
neuromarketing
Our definition: neuromarketing is the
application of neuroscience research,
tools, and techniques in the marketing
of goods, services, and ideas
Neuromarketing of ideas includes
modifying dysfunctional values and
norms to prevent mass atrocities and
genocide
 NEUROMARKETING
Example: Neuroscience research
shows that 95% of human thought,
emotion, and learning occur pre-
consciously
The mind solves problems and makes
decisions as much as 8 seconds before
we are consciously aware of it
In general, people cannot accurately
explain why they make decisions
Emotion tends to overwhelm rationality
in decision-making
The most primitive part of the human
brain is completely self-centered and
responds to anything pertaining to self
It has no patience or empathy for
anything not immediately concerned with
its own well-being and survival
 ACCELERATED CULTURAL EVOLUTION
Tools and techniques are being developed
which can be applied to the prevention of
extremism, violence, terrorism, and mass
atrocities by transforming dysfunctional values
and the consequent dysfunctional culture or
subculture
Use the results of neuroscience research and
social networking technology to design and
propagate functional values to supplant
dysfunctional values
(1) Identify and prioritize dysfunctional cultures
(2) Identify and prioritize the dysfunctional
values and norms underlying the culture
(3) Employ ACE methodology to modify the
dysfunctional values and norms to prevent
extremism, violence, terrorism, and mass
atrocities
 MEME WARFARE CENTER
In 2006 Maj. Michael Prosser (now LTC) of the
U.S. Marine Corps did his thesis for marine
Corps University on Memetics A Growth
Industry in US Military Operations
Thesis: Tomorrows US military must approach
warfighting with an alternate mindset that is
prepared to leverage all elements of national
power to influence the ideological spheres of
future enemies by engaging them with alternate
meansmemesto gain advantage
Prosser designed a Meme Warfare Center
(MWC) to advise the Commander on meme
generation, transmission, and provide a detailed
analysis on enemy, friendly and noncombatant
populations
The MWC would replace the ad hoc nature of
current Information Operations and IO and Joint
Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF)
 MEME WARFARE CENTER
Thesis conclusion: Cognitive scientists,
cultural anthropologists, behavior scientists,
and game theory experts must be included as
professional meme-wielding-gunfighters on
future battlefields
US must recognize the growing need for
emerging disciplines in ideological warfare by
weaponizing memes
The Meme Warfare Center offers
sophisticated and intellectually rich capability
absent in current Information Operations (IO),
Psychological Operations (PsyOps) and is
specifically designed to conduct combat
inside the mind of the enemy
Memes are key emerging tools to win the
ideological metaphysical fight
MEME WARFARE CENTER
MEME WARFARE CENTER
OUR VIEW: MEME CONTROL CENTER
OUR VIEW: MEME CONTROL CENTER
 MULTIDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP
Purpose: sanity check prior to seedling
program
Explore feasibility, desirability, and role of
Accelerated Cultural Evolution (ACE) in
transforming dysfunctional culture to
mitigate dysfunctional culture and prevent
terrorism
Recent results from research in
neuroscience, neurophysiology and other
emerging disciplines, such as military
memetics, neuroeconomics, and
neuromarketing, offer the possibility of
new multidisciplinary technology, tools,
and techniques which can be employed to
ameliorate dysfunctional values and
culture through ACE
MULTIDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP
DRAFT AGENDA

WORKSHOP ON ACCELERATED CULTURAL EVOLUTION (ACE):

PREVENTING AND MITIGATING CONFLICT THROUGH THE
TRANSFORMATION OF DYSFUNCTIONAL CULTURE

DAY ONE
0800-0900 Breakfast and Networking
0900-0915 Welcome to the Workshop
0915-0930 Introduction to an Inaugural Conference on ACE
0930-1030 Cultural Transformation through ACE: An Overview
1030-1100 What is Culture?
1030-1100 Refreshment Break
1100-1130 Example Metrics for Functional and Dysfunctional Cultures
1130-1200 Example Historical Cultural Transformations
1200-1300 Lunch and Networking
1300-1330 Influences Shaping Culture, Past and Present
1330-1400 Functional and Dysfunctional Culture, Past and Present
1400-1430 Key Cultural Narratives, Past and Present
1430-1500 R&D and Practice Relevant to Cultural Transformation: Neuroscience and
Neuroeconomics
1500-1530 R&D and Practice Relevant to Cultural Transformation: Narrative Theory,
Semiotics, and Neuromarketing
1530-1600 Refreshment Break
1600-1630 R&D and Practice Relevant to Cultural Transformation: Social Networks and
Epidemiology of Ideas
1630-1700 Prospective Technology, Tools, and Techniques for ACE
1700-1730 Cultural Transformation: Ethical Issues
1730-1800 Presenter Panel Discussion and Questions for Presenters
1800-2000 Networking Dinner and Reception
MULTIDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP
DAY TWO
0800-0900 Breakfast and Networking
0900-0915 Welcome to Day 2 of the Workshop
0915-0930 Summary of Day 1 and Introduction to Day 2
0930-1000 Cultural Transformation Issues: State of the Technology for Neurophysiology
1030-1100 Cultural Transformation Issues: State of the Technology and National
Availability for Social Networking
1030-1100 Refreshment Break
1100-1130 Cultural Transformation: Political, Legal, and Ideological Issues
1130-1200 Cultural Transformation: Psychological Issues
1200-1300 Lunch and Networking
1300-1330 Cultural Transformation: Anthropological and Sociological Issues
1330-1400 Functional and Dysfunctional Culture (for a Selected Nation), Past and Present
1400-1430 Example Key Cultural Narratives (for a Selected Nation), Past and Present
1430-1500 Potential Unintended Consequences for an ACE Program
1500-1530 Refreshment Break
1530-1630 Roadmap for an ACE Program
1630-1700 Presenter Panel Discussion and Questions for Presenters
1700-1730 Summary of Insights and Action Items
1730 Adjourn