India-Israel cognitive warfare ecosystem: New report urges AI-driven collaboration
Synopsis
A new report argues that India and Israel are sitting on an untapped strategic opportunity — not just to defend against AI-powered information warfare, but to co-build an entirely new ecosystem of research, startups, and industry around Cognitive Warfare. The Cognitive Warfare Agency is already working to make that vision operational.
Key Takeaways
A Times of Israel report urges India and Israel to co-build a Cognitive Warfare ecosystem spanning governments, industry, academia, and startups.
Both nations have seen rising instances of Information Warfare , Narrative Warfare , PsyOps , and Cognitive Warfare in recent years.
The report argues AI is transforming modern conflict by augmenting cognitive capabilities and reshaping how narratives and influence operate.
The Cognitive Warfare Agency (CWA) is identified as an independent research initiative to advance India–Israel collaboration in this domain.
The report frames Cognitive Warfare cooperation as both a security imperative and an emerging domain of innovation and entrepreneurship .
India and Israel should move beyond conventional defence ties to co-build a structured ecosystem of innovation, research, and industry centred on Cognitive Warfare, according to a new report published by the Times of Israel. The report, released on 31 August, argues that the rapid advance of artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how information, narratives, and influence operate in modern conflict — and that both nations are uniquely positioned to lead the response.
Why Cognitive Warfare Is the New Frontier
The report contends that future conflicts will be fought as much in digital and cognitive spaces as on physical battlefields. Adversaries are already targeting public perception, strategic communication, and governmental decision-making through Information Warfare, Narrative Warfare, Psychological Operations (PsyOps), and Cognitive Warfare. Both India and Israel have experienced a marked rise in such operations over the past several years, set against a backdrop of conflict, uncertainty, and rapid geopolitical change.
Notably, AI is described in the report not merely as a tool but as a force multiplier — one that augments the cognitive capabilities of both state and non-state actors, making traditional security frameworks increasingly insufficient.
What the Report Proposes
To meet this challenge, the report calls for a new cross-sectoral ecosystem that brings together governments, industry, academia, startups, and independent research bodies. It frames this not only as a security imperative but as an emerging domain of innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercial opportunity for both countries.
Central to the proposal is what the report describes as the 'Spirit of Acceptance' — a willingness to rethink established assumptions, redesign strategies, and build new frameworks suited to an AI-driven cognitive environment. 'The real challenge lies in embracing the Spirit of Acceptance — the willingness to rethink established assumptions, redesign strategies, and build new frameworks that reflect the realities of an AI-driven cognitive environment,' the report noted.
The Cognitive Warfare Agency
The report highlights the Cognitive Warfare Agency (CWA), described as an independent research initiative focused on the evolving intersection of AI, Cognitive Warfare, and strategic communication. The CWA aims to advance India–Israel cooperation in this domain by developing research frameworks and collaborative initiatives designed to help governments, institutions, businesses, and international partners prepare for an increasingly cognitive future.
This comes amid growing global interest in cognitive security, with several Western nations already investing in dedicated doctrine and institutional capacity for influence operations and counter-narrative work.
The Strategic Opportunity for Both Nations
The report urges India and Israel to seize what it calls a 'unique opportunity' — to develop Cognitive Warfare strategies that serve simultaneously as a security foundation and a launchpad for innovation-driven growth. Both countries share strong technology sectors, democratic institutions, and a history of bilateral defence cooperation, making them natural partners for this next-generation collaboration.
Whether governments in New Delhi and Jerusalem will formalise this framework into policy remains to be seen, but the report positions the moment as one that neither country can afford to miss.
Point of View
Non-kinetic domains. Cognitive Warfare is still loosely defined in most policy circles, and the risk is that the term becomes a catch-all that obscures more than it clarifies. The Cognitive Warfare Agency is a private research initiative, not a government body — and the distance between a think-tank report and actual bilateral policy is considerable. That said, both countries have genuine, documented exposure to influence operations, and the commercial framing — pairing security need with startup opportunity — is shrewd. If New Delhi and Jerusalem can translate this into a structured intergovernmental programme with measurable outcomes, it could be genuinely path-breaking. If not, it risks becoming another well-intentioned document in a crowded field of AI-and-security white papers.
NationPress
31 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cognitive Warfare and why does the report focus on it?
Cognitive Warfare refers to efforts to influence public perception, strategic communication, and governmental decision-making through information, narratives, and psychological operations, often amplified by AI. The report focuses on it because both India and Israel have experienced a sharp rise in such operations and because AI is accelerating the sophistication and scale of these threats.
What is the Cognitive Warfare Agency (CWA)?
The Cognitive Warfare Agency is an independent research initiative focused on the intersection of AI, Cognitive Warfare, and strategic communication. It aims to develop research frameworks and collaborative initiatives to help governments, institutions, and businesses prepare for AI-driven cognitive threats, with a specific focus on advancing India–Israel cooperation.
What does the report recommend India and Israel do differently?
The report urges both countries to move beyond traditional defence and institutional partnerships and instead build a cross-sectoral ecosystem involving governments, industry, academia, startups, and independent research. It also calls for adopting a 'Spirit of Acceptance' — rethinking established assumptions to build frameworks suited to an AI-driven environment.
Who published this report?
The report was published by the Times of Israel and references the work of the Cognitive Warfare Agency, an independent research initiative studying AI and cognitive security.
Why are India and Israel seen as natural partners for this collaboration?
Both nations share advanced technology sectors, democratic institutions, and an established history of bilateral defence cooperation. The report argues this foundation, combined with their shared exposure to information and cognitive warfare threats, makes them uniquely suited to lead joint innovation in this emerging domain.
