AI in Cybersecurity and Cognitive Warfare

Thursday delved into the vital connection between AI and security. The morning began with “Utilizing AI for Customer Security,” led by Dr. Diana Burley of American University. This session explored how AI is used to secure sensitive data, track unusual network activity, and detect threats like phishing and ransomware attacks. Interns learned how AI systems help organizations anticipate and prevent security breaches.

The hands-on portion of the morning featured Lab 7: Anomaly Detection in Cybersecurity, where interns trained a decision tree model using real IoT network traffic to flag malicious behavior. Each connection in the dataset was labeled as either benign or malicious, giving interns firsthand experience in designing tools that distinguish harmful patterns from normal activity.

In the afternoon, interns attended an insightful lecture by Dr. James Giordano of Georgetown University titled “The Emerging Armamentarium of Cognitive Warfare.” Dr. Giordano discussed how computational technologies and neuroscience are increasingly used in defense and intelligence, challenging interns to consider the ethical complexities of these tools.

Later in the day, interns participated in their final AI Business Partner Meetings, where they presented near-complete versions of their proposed solutions. This session gave teams the opportunity to finalize ideas, receive targeted feedback, and refine their recommendations based on real-world input from leaders at organizations like Sustainably and KnoNap.

The evening was dedicated to extended work sessions, with all staff on hand to help teams put the finishing touches on their slides, polish their technical justifications, and run final practice rounds for Friday’s high-stakes presentations.