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PART FOUR: CYBER THREATS TO THE MIND
Part Four consists of four chapters. All of the chapters refer to ways
that the Cyber Age affects our logic—from cause and effect to the actionreaction
cycle of the military decision-maker.
Chapter Eleven considers some of the dangers of the Cyber Age for
decision-makers. This chapter focuses on the dangers that can occur if
machines incorrectly process data or are corrupted or manipulated by outside
sources. The danger is especially great if time is of the essence and decisions
need to be made based on information (or even decisions) provided by
machines. The action-reaction process can be a source of immense danger if the
action aspect is misinterpreted.
Chapter Twelve discusses some of the different ways that manipulation
and perception management techniques are used to persuade people. The
discussion includes examples of scenarios from the Bosnia conflict and of a
tense standoff between the US and Soviet Union, highlighting some of the
techniques utilized.
Chapter Thirteen discusses topics that are often discarded from
consideration by scientists—parapsychology, subliminal messages, psychic
readings and so on. It discusses these issues from the perspective of China and
Russia and what they mean for future developments. These elements are
included because, unlike the US, China and Russia consider these
developments to have a direct bearing on IO.
Finally, Chapter Fourteen discusses the history and current application
of an old Russian concept, reflexive control (RC), that is similar to the US
concept of perception management. The chapter covers the development of the
concept from the time of the Warsaw Pact to how RC is used in the Cyber Age
by military planners utilizing satellites and computers.
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