Cornelius Van der Klaauw - "Cognitive Warfare": Works via Neural Nanotechnology in Concert with AI, Hyper-Personalized, Targeting the Subconscious of Non-Combatants, and It Is Already Happening.

An Article by a Netherland Royal Navy Commander in the NATO Magazine, The Three Swords - October 2023

The article “Cognitive Warfare” by Commander van der Klaauw contains very important points which I will highlight below. These points are being discussed openly, in a publicly available NATO Magazine, The Three Swords. However, the US Government stays quiet about the ongoing Cognitive Warfare perpetrated on the civilian population.

1. Cognitive Attacks Are Aimed at The Civilian Population.

One of the reasons “why NATO is developing a concept for cognitive warfare: A cognitive attack directly targets the minds of civilians, meaning non-combatants. As that is a violation of the Law of Armed Conflict.”

2. Cognitive Attacks are Different from Psyops. They Attack The Subconscious, and They Are Hyper-Personalized.

“Unlike psychological operations, cognitive activities are not directed at our conscious mind, but at our subconscious mind, the main drivers of our behavior: emotions. This takes place through hyper-personalized targeting integrating and exploiting neuroscience, bio-technology, information and cognitive techniques (NBIC), mainly using social media and digital networks for neuro-profiling and targeting individuals. We need to realize that individuals are at the centre of all military operations and strategic-political decision-making.”

3. Cognitive Attacks Are Already Happening.

“Although they often sound like ideas from a science-fiction film, cognitive attacks are not science fiction anymore. They are taking place already now, and these attacks will continue to become more sophisticated.”

4. Havana Syndrome Should Be Considered a Cognitive Attack(s).

“Although not proven to be a cognitive attack, the so-called Havana syndrome, a cluster of adverse symptoms reported by U.S. intelligence and military personnel stationed abroad in recent years, could well be an instance of the use of cognitive capabilities”

5. Amygdala, One of The Oldest Structures of The Brain, Is The Primary Target.

“The reason why cognitive attacks go unnoticed by their targets is that cognitive activities bypass the conscious mind and directly target the subconscious of a person. In fact, within the subconscious mind, the primary target is the amygdala.”

6. Why Attacking The Subconscious Is Effective.

“The reason why most of our decisions are made by our subconscious is that our conscious mind uses a lot of energy, which causes it to reach the limits of its capacity quickly. Actually only five to ten percent of the decisions we make are rational decisions; for the rest, we rely on our subconscious decision-making, which is strongly influenced by repetition, automatisms, biases and fallacies. We tend to then use our conscious mind to justify, rationalize and explain our emotionally driven decision-making and behavior.”

7. Nano-Sized Neurotechnology Works in Concert with AI.

“Neural nanotechnology can be used to bring nano-sized robots close to a neuron via the bloodstream and make it pos-sible to link the human brain directly (i.e. not intercepted by our senses) to a computer, making use of artificial intelligence in the process. But we must keep in mind that this is a two-way street: such an artificial intelligence will, in turn, be linked to a human brain.”

8. Cognitive Attacks Exploit Target’s Vulnerabilities.

“Cognitive attacks are aimed at exploiting emotions rooted in our subconscious, bypassing our rational conscious mind. This is achieved by exploiting biases, fallacies, emotions and automatisms, but also through nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology.”

9. Altering Perception Affects Decision-Making.

“In cognitive warfare, the ultimate aim is to alter our perception of reality and deceive our brain in order to affect our decision-making.”

10. Every Person is a Potential Target.

“The human mind is becoming the battlefield of tomorrow, and this means that every person is a potential target. Warfare is no longer a purely military concept; it has be-come much broader and more complex. In the future, there will only be one rule in warfare: There are no rules. While other domains can provide tactical and operational victories, the human domain is the only domain in which we can secure a full victory.”

Link to the Article PDF can be found here.