The popular understanding of cognitive warfare focuses on disinformation and AI-generated content. In his opening keynote remarks, Japanese AI pioneer Dr. Tomabechi will explain why that framing is dangerously incomplete — and what cognitive warfare actually is, based on 30+ years of classified and operational research. Following these opening remarks, Stimson senior fellows Jenny Town and Allison Pytlak will connect these general lessons to actual security threats faced by the United States and its security partners in East Asia – hearing from Dr. Tomabechi about how his company, Cognitive Research Laboratories, is working to offer AI-powered solutions to such threats.
Before opening to audience Q&A in-person and from online, Dr. Tomabechi will conclude with operational implications, including how to achieve maximum behavioral effect with minimum intervention — and how to design information operations whose combined effect point toward strategic integration rather than fragmentation; that sound deductive mathematical foundations encompassing both kinetic and cognitive operations are necessary to avoid inconsistency — since kinetic warfare and cognitive warfare are no longer separable.
Following Q&A, in-person attendees are invited to a casual networking reception from 4:30-5:15 courtesy of the Japan Program’s US-Japan Engagement Circle.
Featured Speakers
Hideto Tomabechi, CEO, Cognitive Research Laboratories (Keynote remarks)
Dr. Hideto Tomabechi is a cognitive scientist and AI pioneer specializing in hybrid AI architectures, cognitive warfare, and national security applications. He developed early speech-to-speech translation systems and the MONA-LISA framework, a precursor to modern hallucination mitigation in AI. His work spans computational linguistics, brain science, and policy, including advisory roles following the Tokyo subway sarin attacks. He coined the term “cognitive warfare” and continues to lead advancements in the field, with briefings to senior defense leadership and lectures at major policy forums.
Jenny Town, Senior Fellow and Director, 38 North Program
Jenny Town is a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of Stimson’s Korea Program and 38 North. Her areas of expertise include North Korea, US-DPRK relations, US-ROK alliance relations and extended deterrence, and Northeast Asia regional security.
Allison Pytlak, Senior Fellow and Director, Cyber Program
Allison Pytlak is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Cyber Program at the Stimson Center, specializing in cybersecurity policy, international law, and multilateral governance. Her work focuses on cyber operations, UN processes, and strategies to reduce cyber harm through norms, accountability, and deterrence. With over 15 years of experience in disarmament and civil society advocacy, she has contributed extensively to research, policy development, and training on the human rights and gender dimensions of cybersecurity.
Andrew Oros, Senior Fellow & Director, Japan Program (Moderator)
Andrew L. Oros is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center. His areas of expertise include Japanese domestic politics, Japan’s foreign relations, East Asian security, and the intersection of demographic change and national security readiness