Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Our new report ‘Persuasive technologies in China: Implications for the future of national security’ is featured in the latest POLITICO China Watcher newsletter. The report reveals that 'emerging persuasive technologies could enable the Chinese government and other malign actors … to sway opinions and actions without the conscious autonomy of users.' 📖 Read the report ↪️ bit.ly/411dnGf 🔎 Explore the newsletter ⤵️

'The CCP’s influence operations targeting India in 2024 were mostly ineffective. However, they are part of a broader strategy to destabilise countries in their neighbourhoods. It has used similar methods to influence electoral outcomes and political narratives in Canada, Taiwan and Britain, where it has employed a combination of disinformation and covert support,' write Nishit Kumar, Elena Yi-Ching Ho and Albert Zhang.

🎙️ NEW PODCAST 🎙️  In the latest episode of Stop the World, ASPI Senior Analyst Alex Bristow and John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, discuss urban warfare, asymmetric capabilities, the laws of armed conflict and more! 🎧 Listen to the episode now 👉 bit.ly/4i9cnpS  

'Emerging persuasive technologies will challenge national security in ways that are difficult to forecast, but we can already see enough indicators to prompt us to take a stronger regulatory stance. We still have time to regulate these technologies, but that time for both governments and industry are running out. We must act now,' writes Daria Impiombato.

📣 EVENT REMINDER 📣 Join ASPI, Future of Privacy Forum and AARNet (Australia's Academic and Research Network) at 6pm AEDT tonight for a special panel discussion on digital privacy in Australia! Hear key insights from Ben Au, Dr John Coyne, Huon Curtis PhD AARPI, Mandy R. and Amie Stepanovich. 📝 Register now to attend in-person or online ➡️ bit.ly/4g0Y5G3

It was a pleasure to host the Canberra leg of the 2020Partners AUKUS Advanced Technologies Dialogue at ASPI this week! The AUKUS alliance embodies a shared commitment to innovation and advanced capabilities and these discussions will help enhance collaboration, critical intelligence sharing and the development of interoperable solutions to strengthen shared security. Special thanks to Greg Sim, Liesl Jordan, Karissa A. Breen (KB), Andrew Charlton, Brendan Dowling and everyone who joined us for this event.

‘Amid an economic downturn and intensifying competition in the Pacific, China is refining its foreign investment strategy, increasingly starting projects it calls ‘small but beautiful’. Although modest in scale, they can quietly build influence and can catch foreign policymakers off guard. With this shift, China can foster economic growth and deepen geopolitical ties across the Pacific region,’ writes Victor Chen.

'If populist attacks help to break this Western sleepwalk and to catalyse much-needed engagement, reform and revitalisation of parts of that order, they might unintentionally offset some of the damage their own rhetoric may do the legitimacy of those bodies', writes Jolyon Ford.

🚨 NEW REPORT 🚨 In ‘Persuasive technologies in China: Implications for the future of national security’, Daria Impiombato, Dr Nathan Attrill, Albert Zhang, Fergus Ryan and Bethany Allen reveal prominent Chinese tech companies are developing and deploying powerful persuasive technologies to support China’s propaganda, military and public-security agencies. 🔖 Read the report now ↪️ bit.ly/411dnGf  

I had the honour of being invited to and speaking before a distinguished group of U.S. military officers at the National War College on all things AUKUS, deterrence, and the dynamic strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific. Thank you to Professor R.E. Burnett for inviting us and to my Australian Strategic Policy Institute colleagues Eric Lies and Cameron H. for their insightful contributions to our discussion which reflected the strength of our research, engagement, and original analysis.