Terrorism

Schar School Scholar Warns of Existential Threats to Humanity by Terrorists

Andrew J Schappert — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 14:38:45 +0000

Schar School Scholar Warns of Existential Threats to Humanity by Terrorists Andrew J Schappert Fri, 07/07/2023 - 10:38

Request program information

Learn more about the Schar School

As artificial intelligence and drones become increasingly ubiquitous, Zachary Kallenborn—a policy fellow at ��AV's Schar School of Policy and Government—stands at the cutting edge of researching how terrorists might use these emerging technologies to wipe out humanity.

Zak Kallenborn: His job is to be ‘interested in the highest risk scenarios that could have the biggest effect on society.’

In the last few days, he’s received coverage in Forbes and Newsweek for an essay he co-wrote that dissects the threat of existential terrorism to our national security—and the world.

Kallenborn is also featured in a new documentary series debuting on Netflix in July, Unknown: Killer Robots, which examines how AI represents, or not, a threat to mankind.

The rapidly circulating peer-reviewed study that has gripped the media describes existential terrorism as the desire to inflict damage of a magnitude so catastrophic that it threatens humanity’s survival. Even if the likelihood of such an event is minor, Kallenborn said it is vital to ask, “What if terrorists wanted to destroy all of humanity—what would that look like?” Most terrorists, he noted, are likely not interested in humanity’s annihilation “because [they] have constituencies and things they want to achieve.” Still, the possibility lingers.

As an officially proclaimed Army Mad Scientist—one of a network of experts exploring advanced warfare capabilities—and an authority on drone swarms and killer robots, it’s his job to be “interested in the highest risk scenarios that could have the biggest effect on society,” he said. Yet, Kallenborn maintains a flair for the comedic. He describes himself in his Twitter bio as an “analyst in horrible ways people kill each other.”

Before graduating high school, Kallenborn was a published mathematician, but he was still looking for “something that would be directly useful for people’s day-to-day lives,” he said. Studying the “horrible” ways we kill one another was something he stumbled on in college. “My notion of national security was like Jack Bauer-style guys,” he said referencing the action television show 24. “I didn’t really see it as an academic thing.”

But after hearing a talk on cybersecurity in his freshman year at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, he was hooked. Promptly adding a major in international relations, Kallenborn interned in chemical and biological warfare at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, where he developed a fascination with cataclysmic terrorism. (Later, by coincidence, he discovered drone swarm technology was not science fiction and quickly set out to become an expert on the topic.)

While drones are not a new technology, Kallenborn noted that their capacity for integration with artificial intelligence could form drone swarms capable of communicating and collaborating autonomously. Moreover, their affordability and versatility make them a formidable weapon of war.

In the war in Ukraine, for example, drones offer an inexpensive alternative for air combat weapons. Russia, he said, has “been using cheap drones to essentially saturate Ukrainian defenses.” Likewise, Kallenborn says Ukrainian forces have used drones to guide artillery strikes.

“The problem is that current artificial intelligence is very brittle,” he said. “Researchers have shown that a single pixel change can cause a mission vision system to confuse a stealth bomber with a dog.” In the event of an error, “you get not only death to civilians … but we also have escalation dynamics that come along with that.”

So, will drones and AI eventually destroy us all? After a chuckle, Kallenborn calmly replied, “No. But I think it’s a plausible enough scenario that it’s worth taking seriously.”

Topics

Terrorism

Zak Kallenborn

Schar School of Policy and Government

Schar School News July 2023

Artificial Intelligence

Research

Podcast - EP 45: Describing history through the eyes of ordinary people

Damian Cristodero — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:29:01 +0000

Podcast - EP 45: Describing history through the eyes of ordinary people Damian Cristodero Tue, 12/13/2022 - 15:29

Helon Habila, a professor of creative writing at ��AV, and an acclaimed international author, has never shied away from important issues. In a fascinating discussion, Habila, the author of four novels, tells Mason President Gregory Washington about his process of combining compelling narratives and characters with current examples of oppression and exploitation, and how his factual account of the 2014 kidnapping in Nigeria of 276 young girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram forced him to confront his homeland as he had never seen it.

Listen to this episode

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Access to Excellence Podcast Episodes

Podcast Ep 61 - Can dirty coffee grounds be the key to clean water?
October 21, 2024
Podcast Ep 60 - Marking a decade of success at Mason Korea
August 6, 2024
Podcast Ep 59 - Cybersecurity and the global threats of tomorrow
July 5, 2024
Podcast - Ep 58: What will become of the Amazon?
April 22, 2024
Podcast - Ep 57: Catherine Read, mayor of Fairfax City, Va., is outspoken, unfiltered
March 25, 2024

Topics

Access to Excellence podcast

Podcast Episode

podcast

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

creative writing

Immigration

immigrants and refugee communities

Terrorism

Fulbright Researcher Jennifer Oreta Joins Schar School’s TraCCC

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 20:46:24 +0000

Fulbright Researcher Jennifer Oreta Joins Schar School’s TraCCC Andrew J Schappert Wed, 08/11/2021 - 16:46

In This Story

Louise I. Shelley

Jennifer Oreta: ‘I want to look into the efforts and the reforms done in the security sector…’

Jennifer Oreta had heard of the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) even on the other side of the world in her native country of the Philippines. When Oreta applied to and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for research, the Schar School was her first choice.

“I was looking for a university where there is a program on terrorism and anti-terrorism,” Oreta said. “And the track record of TraCCC is very solid when it comes to anti-corruption and anti-terrorism.”

Terrorism, Oreta notes, is a major problem in her home country.

“Terrorism is a major challenge when it comes to security, therefore it is really necessary for countries that are allied and working together be more synchronized and harmonious in their anti-terrorism operations,” Oreta explained. “I want to look into the efforts and the reforms done in the security sector—meaning the military, the police, the intelligence bodies of the countries that are allied together: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and the U.S. The U.S. is a major partner when it comes to issues of anti-terrorism.”

Oreta aims to use her research with TraCCC, led by founding director Louise Shelley, to help guide policy in the Southeast Asia region. She also hopes to submit her findings to regional partners.

“I want to make policy recommendations to the Philippine government on how we can further improve our cooperation with other Southeast Asian countries,” she said.

Additional reporting by Buzz McClain.

Topics

Terrorism

Research

Schar School News August 2021

Fulbright

Transnational Crime and Corruption Center

Event Preview: Panel Targets Domestic Terrorism

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 17:34:48 +0000

Event Preview: Panel Targets Domestic Terrorism Andrew J Schappert Wed, 03/24/2021 - 13:34

David Priess, Schar School of Policy and Government visiting professor and senior fellow

Supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building on January 6, believing Trump’s claims of electoral fraud. Since then, the issue of domestic extremism and terrorism has jumped to the top of the priority list of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies alike.

“The rising tide of charged political rhetoric, internet conspiracy theories, and false narratives of election fraud has elevated the threat posed by domestic violent extremists,” said Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI and now a distinguished visiting professor at the Schar School. “Conversations about the dynamics of domestic terrorism are essential to fully understanding this threat.”

The problem is not a new one, but it still poses a great challenge for national security practitioners. What is the nature of threat? What are possible responses? How does a nation stop domestic terrorists while protecting civil liberties? What roles do the FBI and Department of Homeland Security play in countering it?

In short, what should America’s intelligence community do?

Andrew McCabe, former Deputy Director of the FBI and Schar School distinguished visiting professor

That will be the conversation taking place Thursday, March 25, at 7 p.m. (EDT), when the Schar School’s Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security welcomes McCabe and Elizabeth Neumann, former senior advisor to the deputy chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security, for a discussion on domestic terrorism and how it can be countered. Schar School visiting professor and senior fellow David Preiss will moderate the discussion.

Schar School fact: A generous gift from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation provides $450,000 in new scholarships for master’s students enrolled in a security studies program for Fall 2021. Learn more about the scholarship and how to apply.

Topics

National Security

Terrorism

Schar School of Policy and Government

Events

Schar News March 2021

What Does it Take to Understand Global Terrorism? This Mason Team is Finding Out.

Anonymous — Wed, 06 May 2020 18:21:04 +0000

What Does it Take to Understand Global Terrorism? This Mason Team is Finding Out. Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/06/2020 - 14:21

Originally published on May 6, 2020

To defend against terrorism, you have to understand it. Thanks to more than a dozen students, alumni and faculty at ��AV working on a digital terrorism database, everyone from policy makers to researchers around the world will be a step closer to that goal.

“There are many other databases focusing on [terrorism], but very few have the international reach that we do, most of them are regional or country-specific,” said Vincent Nicosia, a 2019 alumnus of the Schar School of Policy and Government who is working on the database at the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC).

Since the early 1990s, the U.S. Congress has mandated that the State Department produce a report on global terrorism. Part of that includes keeping a database of every terrorist incident around the world, said TraCCC Deputy Director Judith Deane.

Development Services Group Inc. (DSG), partnering with Mason, was awarded the five-year contract from the State Department in August 2018 to work on the reports. Mason hires and trains the multilingual data analysts who interpret, categorize and enter the information, while DSG produces a statistical annex based on the data, Deane said.

“We’re really thrilled to get this,” Deane said. “It’s an educational opportunity for Mason students, and it’s a real opportunity for students to contribute something in the world.”

As the database is congressionally mandated, it informs foreign policy decisions, said Mason professor Mahmut Cengiz, senior data analyst on the project.

Mason’s team complements DSG’s automated open-source information gathering, by analyzing the incidents to ensure the data is as accurate as possible. It’s an innovative approach, Deane said, and unlike most other data collection efforts, the Mason team collects up to 52 attributes for each incident, including facts on the perpetrators, targets, victims and weapons.

Many students have cultural and historic understandings of the countries they work on, as they’ve lived in the regions and can speak the languages, Cengiz said. All have studied terrorism or counterterrorism.

The diversified staff and their expertise help ensure the database is not overly U.S.-centric in its interpretations, which had been a critique of the database before it was in Mason’s hands, Deane said. There are also members, such as 2017 Antonin Scalia Law School alumnus Haider Semaism, who have been personally affected by terrorism.

The database also looks at trends over time. For some students, the findings have been surprising.

“There’s a lot of different security issues that I wasn’t aware of before,” Nicosia said. “There are hotspots in areas like Chile and the Philippines; most people in the United States would probably imagine terrorism is a Middle Eastern phenomenon, but it’s truly a global issue.”

Being near the hub of U.S. government and policy also allows students to learn from experts who have visited as guest speakers. This semester the team heard from leaders, including former military advisor to the president of Bangladesh General Munir Munirizzaman Ret, former deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center Russell Travers and former acting and deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell, who is also a Schar School Fellow.

“These are some of the same people who are going to be looking at the data when it’s published,” said Caitlin Ford, who earned her bachelor’s in December and returned to Mason for her master’s in public policy. “It’s helpful to get multiple points of view so that we can be as objective and well-rounded as possible.”

“For education and professional growth, this is the place to be right now,” said Vladimir Semizhonov, an international security graduate student originally from Kazakhstan. “It has to do with phenomenon that stands very tall in the political and global agenda, and is not a purely academic exercise.”

In addition to learning more about counterterrorism, their efforts have global value.

“It makes me even more proud to be an American knowing that we are helping combat [terrorism] and that possibly one day we don’t have to have a database for this,” Ford said.

This Mason alumnus lost a friend due to ISIS. Here’s how he’s fighting back.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:05:00 +0000

This Mason alumnus lost a friend due to ISIS. Here’s how he’s fighting back. Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 04/28/2020 - 20:05

When Haider Semaisim works on the federally mandated database of global incidents of terrorism with ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government, he does so with pride. It is not only an educational and professional endeavor, he said. “It’s personal.”

“Iraq is one of the countries that suffered a lot from terrorism,” said Semaisim, an Iraqi-American. “[My friend, Zaid] was killed in 2011 by ISIS.”

Haider Semaisim is part of a Mason team analyzing terrorist incidents around the world for the U.S. State Department. Photo provided.

Zaid, who Semaisim said was working as a first lieutenant for the Iraqi Army, responded to an order to liberate hostages in a home. Tragically, the house was booby-trapped and exploded, he said.

“It was very devastating,” said Semaisim, who earned his master of laws from Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School in 2017. “This project is giving me retribution in a way, that I am fighting terrorism through the keyboard.”

As Semaisim analyzes terrorist incidents for the database from open-source media, he helps trace terrorist trends and strategies.

“When we look at a terrorist organization holistically over one or two years, we notice something that a real-time follower would not notice,” Semaisim said.

That’s one reason the database provides critical insight for policy makers, he said.

Semaisim said he primarily analyzes incidents from Iraq, and his fluency in Arabic and understanding of Iraqi culture and politics allow him to bring a unique expertise to the project.

He describes the project as “the good fight,” but he is also passionate about making a difference in other areas.

Before coming to the United States in 2014, Semaisim said he was a lawyer in Iraq doing criminal and divorce law.

Semaisim became a U.S. citizen in 2018. Photo provided.

“I was not very optimistic about the future of Iraq, and the United States is a beacon of freedom,” said Semaisim, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018.

Some of Semaisim’s friends were not as fortunate, he said. Learning about their challenges in gaining legal status inspired him to switch his interests to immigration law.

“There’s a lot of people who deserve to be here, who would contribute a lot, who seek to have a better life to care for their children and want to be here,” Semaisim said. “With just the right type of help, they can live their lives normally.”

Thanks to his Mason education, Semaisim believes he will be on his way to helping after he passes the bar exam.

“George Mason is an amazing university,” Semaisim said, adding that the law school professors, such as his favorite, Michael Davis, are respected lawyers who not only teach from textbooks, but from real-life experience.

Even when Semaisim would disagree with peers or professors, he said his Mason education instilled in him “respect of the argument and how to accept differences.”

“Haider is a hard worker, eager to learn, willing to give back, and fully appreciative of the education he received,” Davis said. “There are some students I think will do well in the future, and then there are those students like Haider, who I am sure they will do well. He was an asset to our law school and a model for other LLM students.”

Schar School of Policy and Government Terrorism Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)

Antonin Scalia Law School

Scalia Law School

Schar School of Policy and Government

Law and Policy Research

National Policy Issues

International Policy Issues

Students

What does it take to understand global terrorism? This Mason team is finding out.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:05:00 +0000

What does it take to understand global terrorism? This Mason team is finding out. Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 04/28/2020 - 20:05

More than a dozen students, alumni and faculty at ��AV are working on a digital terrorism database that will help policy makers and researchers understand and defend against terrorism.
Front row (left to right): Becca Cooper, Alexis Polo, Caitlin Ford, Amanda Darby, Chukwuma Onyia.
Back row (left to right): Ernest Ogbozor, Mathieu Bere, Isaac Williams, Russ Travers (guest speaker during his tenure as Acting Director of The National Counterterrorism Center), Manuela Chyang, Vincent Nicosia, Haider Semaisim. Photo by Buzz McClain.

“We’re really thrilled to get this,” Deane said. “It’s an educational opportunity for Mason students, and it’s a real opportunity for students to contribute something in the world.”

As the database is congressionally mandated, it informs foreign policy decisions, said Mason professor Mahmut Cengiz, senior data analyst on the project.

Team members have cultural and historic understandings of the countries they work on, and all have studied terrorism or counterterrorism. Front row (left to right): Manuela Chyang, Ernest Ogbozor. Back row (left to right): Matheiu Bere, Isaac Williams, Chukwuma Onyia. Photo by Buzz McClain.

The database also looks at trends over time. For some students, the findings have been surprising.

In addition to learning more about counterterrorism, their efforts have global value.

“It makes me even more proud to be an American knowing that we are helping combat [terrorism] and that possibly one day we don’t have to have a database for this,” Ford said.