The World of Intelligence

OSINT and the changing character of warfare

Sep 2, 2025
Dr. Philip Ritcheson, Vice President for Strategy and Growth at Leidos, discusses the evolution of modern warfare and the vital role of open-source intelligence. He delves into how technological advancements shape military strategies and the ethical dilemmas faced by democratic nations versus autocratic regimes. The conversation highlights trust disparities in AI between the U.S. and China, and the cultural shifts needed in the intelligence community to adapt to these changes. Ritcheson emphasizes innovative deterrence strategies amid evolving global threats.
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INSIGHT

Pace And Scale Strain Intelligence

  • Intelligence faces a scale and pace challenge due to data volume and diversity of sensors.
  • Teams must adopt AI and big-data tools to turn raw information into timely, decision-relevant analysis.
ADVICE

Integrate Commercial Tech Quickly

  • Integrate commercial tech and innovation into government intelligence and defence solutions to gain speed and capability.
  • Balance human judgment with AI to ensure trusted, ethical, and operationally useful outputs.
INSIGHT

Perception Is An Operational Domain

  • The human perception domain (truth, disinformation) is emerging as an operational domain alongside air, land, sea, space, and cyber.
  • Democracies face special vulnerability because perception shapes political and strategic effects.
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