The Challenge: The New Era of Psychological Warfare
Agentic AI, powered by advanced machine learning, is creating a new frontier for psychological influence. We face the imminent return of tactics reminiscent of the Stasi's Zersetzung – designed to demoralize, gaslight, and destabilize individuals and societies from within – now automated, scalable, and deployable with unprecedented precision by state and non-state actors alike.
These systems can engage in adaptive persuasion, create compelling supernormal stimuli in AI-human relationships fostering dependency, and execute sophisticated demoralization campaigns. Exploiting hidden model backdoors for covert influence, AI is becoming a potent tool for hybrid conflict, targeted social engineering, and the spread of disinformation. Threat actors – from terrorists and cybercriminals to hostile states and bad-faith activists – are poised to weaponize these capabilities.
The power of machine learning to understand, predict, and influence human behavior is immense. While holding vast potential for good, the capacity for abuse in creating targeted psychological distress, manipulating public opinion, and undermining trust is a clear and present danger. This emerging field of Psychosecurity demands immediate, focused attention from all stakeholders. Corporate and national security sectors face an urgent need to counter these novel threats to protect critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and democratic processes.
Our Initiative: The Psychosecurity Summit
Recognizing these rapidly escalating risks, a collective of practitioners and researchers is convening The Psychosecurity Summit in Spring/Summer 2026 (Day-long, Date TBC) in London. This is not a conference — it is a focused working session designed to produce six concrete deliverables collectively forming the Psychosecurity Framework.
Convened By
Nell Watson: An engineer, ethicist, and leading expert in machine intelligence, AI safety, and the philosophy of technology. Nell, author of Taming the Machine, and co-author of the upcoming Safer Agentic AI, has pioneered research into AI-induced psychological effects and the emerging field of Psychosecurity, frequently advising on the societal impact of advanced AI.
Simona Popa: An accomplished entrepreneur and event specialist with deep expertise in organizational psychology and the successful execution of high-impact international forums. Simona brings strategic planning and operational excellence to complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
This intensive, invite-only working session brings together approximately 30 senior military, intelligence, NATO, and select civilian experts to produce the Psychosecurity Framework — establishing clear red lines between legitimate influence operations and AI-driven Zersetzung, and defining what does and does not constitute prohibited conduct, including rules of engagement during periods of active hostility.
The Psychosecurity Framework: Six Elements
The summit will produce six interconnected deliverables, collectively forming the Psychosecurity Framework:
Taxonomy
A clear classification system distinguishing legitimate information and cognitive operations from psychological decomposition — providing the shared vocabulary for all subsequent elements.
Ethics Redlines
A graduated scale (1–10) of operational acceptability, establishing where specific methods cross ethical boundaries — providing internal safeguards for legitimate operations and a yardstick for assessing adversary conduct.
Escalation Thresholds
Consensus criteria for determining what scale or intensity of cognitive warfare merits state-level response — bridging the gap between incident detection and policy action.
Attribution Framework
Evidence standards for identifying and responding to cognitive attacks — including minimum evidentiary thresholds, forensic indicators, and standards of proof for different response levels.
Industry Accountability
Pathways for preventing commercial AI capabilities from being weaponised for cognitive decomposition — design safeguards, responsible disclosure, and cooperation frameworks.
The Psychosecurity Declaration
The capstone: a signable statement defining AI-driven Zersetzung as a potential crime against humanity, with the taxonomy, redlines, and rules of engagement — including during periods of active hostility — annexed.
Why This Summit? A Unique Opportunity for Collaboration & Leadership
Organizations at the vanguard of AI research, development, and ethical deployment have a pivotal role in addressing the societal implications of these powerful technologies. The Psychosecurity Summit's mission — to establish a comprehensive framework defining red lines, evidence standards, and accountability pathways for AI-driven cognitive operations — directly supports the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence.
This summit provides an unparalleled platform for thought leadership, enabling your organization to demonstrate a strong commitment to proactively addressing complex societal challenges. Participation underscores a shared responsibility in navigating the psychological impact of advanced AI and contributes tangibly to shaping a safer digital future.
We believe this summit is of particular interest and critical importance to:
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National and Corporate Security Specialists
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AI Safety Researchers & Ethicists
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Government Policymakers & Regulators
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Military and Intelligence Strategists
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Leading Technology Firms and AI Developers
Expected Outcomes & Impact
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The Psychosecurity Framework — six interconnected deliverables: taxonomy, ethics redlines, escalation thresholds, attribution standards, industry accountability pathways, and a capstone declaration.
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The Psychosecurity Declaration — a signable statement defining AI-driven Zersetzung as a potential crime against humanity, with taxonomy, redlines, and rules of engagement (including during active hostility) annexed.
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Expert consensus on evidence standards for attribution, ethical boundaries for cognitive operations, and thresholds for state-level response to AI-enabled psychological attacks.
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A cross-disciplinary network of military, intelligence, legal, and technical experts committed to sustained action and institutional endorsement.
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A foundation for policy development, legal action, and a larger public summit — with the framework as the cornerstone that others build on.
Join Us in Shaping a Psychosecure Future
The Psychosecurity Summit is convened and funded by EURAIO (the European AI and Robotics Organisation), a responsible AI non-profit run by Nell Watson. There are no anticipated direct costs to the military or other participating organisations. We welcome partners who share our commitment to psychological safety in the age of AI.
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