Connect and collaborate with experts as the Cyber Fusion Innovation Center (CFIC) facilitates virtual events in this series. Webinars take place quarterly and provide presentations to a wide range of audience members on various topics, including technology, cybersecurity, future-proofing efforts, and more. Throughout the hour-long virtual event, the audience can learn together, and they will have an opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A segment.
We have the pleasure of hosting Brian David Johnson!
Futurist, Author, Professor on Tuesday, November 5, 2024!
Brian David Johnson
Futurist, Author, Professor
Bios and Links
SHORT BIO
Brian David Johnson has made the future his business. From 2009 to 2016, Johnson was Intel Corporation's first-ever futurist. Currently, he is a professor at Arizona State University's Global Futures Laboratory and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He also works in a private practice with a broad range of groups, including governments, militaries, corporations, nonprofits and start-ups, to help them envision their future. Johnson holds over 40 patents and is the best-selling author of both science fiction and fact books (A Threatcasting Textbook [Morgan and Claypool], The Future You [Harper], WaR: Wizards and Robots [Penguin], and 21st Century Robot [Make]).
LONG BIO
The future is Brian David Johnson's business. As a futurist he works with organizations to develop an actionable 10 -15 year vision and what it will feel like to live in the future. His work is called futurecasting, using ethnographic field studies, technology research, cultural history, trend data, global interviews and even science fiction to provide a pragmatic road map of the future. As an applied futurist Johnson has worked with governments, trade organizations, start-ups and multinational corporations to not only help envision their future but specify the steps needed to get there. Johnson is currently the futurist in residence at Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination, a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the Director of the ASU Threatcasting Lab. He is also a Analyst and Senior Fellow at Phaedrus.
Johnson speaks and writes extensively in ongoing columns for IEEE Computer Magazine and Successful Farming where he is the "Farm Futurist”. He has contributed articles to publications like The Wall Street Journal, Slate, and Wired Magazine. Johnson holds over 40 patents and is the best-selling author of both science fiction and fact books (A Threatcasting Textbook [Morgan and Claypool], The Future You [Harper], WaR: Wizards and Robots [Penguin], and 21st Century Robot [Make]). He was appointed first futurist ever at the Intel Corporation in 2009 where he worked for over a decade helping to design over 2 billion microprocessors. Johnson appears regularly on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, PBS, FOX News, and the Discovery Channel and has been featured in Scientific American, The Technology Review, Forbes, INC, and Popular Science. He has directed two feature films and is an illustrator and commissioned painter. In 2016 Samuel Goldwyn released "Vintage Tomorrows” a documentary based upon Johnson's book of the same name.
LINKS
Threatcasting Reports:
Here you will find years of reports and deliverables.
Army Cyber Institute, Secret Service and NATO reports:
https://cyber.army.mil/Work-Areas/Threatcasting/
Mastercard Threatcasting Site:
There are multiple years of reports, videos and articles.
Science Fiction Prototypes:
ASU Threatcasting Lab Examples:
https://threatcasting.asu.edu/scifi-prototypes
Army Cyber Institute Infrastructure Attack Animations:
https://cyber.army.mil/Research/Jack-Voltaic/JV-Media/
MORE LINKS
Arizona State University Threatcasting Lab
https://threatcasting.asu.edu/
ASU Science Fiction Prototypes:
https://threatcasting.asu.edu/scifi-prototypes
Science Fiction Prototyping Book
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Prototyping-Designing-Future/dp/1608456552
Threatcasting Book
Future You Book
21st Century Robot book:
21st Century Robot Site:
https://www.21stcenturyrobot.com/
Examples of Previous Work:
ASU Threatcasting Lab
My lab at Arizona State University does non-classified sponsored research for multiple government and private organizations. We have an ongoing working relationship with the United States Army and the Air Force. Additionally, I do work with The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the United States Secret Service.
Below is a link to our publications page were we publish all of our non-classified and non- confidential reports.
https://threatcasting.asu.edu/
Mastercard:
Over the past 7+ years I've been working with Mastercard doing Threatcasting in multiple areas. Below are some press and videos that discuss the work. The output not only identified a range of possible and potential threats but the results tie directly into long term strategy documents as well as budgeting priorities.
Recent MasterCard Article about using Threatcasting:
https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2022/threatcasting-and-cyber-threat-protection/
MasterCard Chief Security Officer Ron Green testified in front of Congress about their use of Threatcasting:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEAQPgBHuHg
Written Testimony:
https://homeland.house.gov/imo/media/doc/green_testimony_cipi_062222.pdf
Aspen Institute Article by CSO Ron Green
Cybersecurity in 10 years: How to protect against all the possibilities
https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/post/guest-post-protecting-against-all-possibilities
RSA Article:
Threatcasting Future Risks from Fraud, Cyber Attacks and Technology
Staying head of Cyber Attacks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu3Ut8eteKw
Flipping the Script on Cyber Security
https://newsroom.mastercard.com/2018/10/19/flipping-the-script-on-cyberattacks/
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
Since 2016 I have been the futurist for ASCM looking at various positive and negative futures for global supply chains. During the pandemic we were extra busy helping business leaders navigate and help with business decisions.
Recent Supply Chain Report: Lessons learned from COVID and Post-COVID
https://threatcasting.asu.edu/sites/default/files/2021-03/Threatcasting%20Research%20Report.pdf
Example Supply Chain event during Pandemic to empower business leaders to make decisions:
https://www.ascm.org/events/Threatcasting-future-implications-lessons-learned-from-COVID-19/
Science Fiction Prototyping
Fast Company 2022 Article/Profile:
Cisco:
Example of the Threatcasting and Science Prototypes I did with Cisco over the years:
https://blogs.cisco.com/tag/science-fiction-prototype
United States Army
Examples of the graphic novellas I've done with the Army.
Overview of "Dark Hammer" Project
Multiple Examples of the Graphic Novellas
https://threatcasting.asu.edu/scifi-prototypes
Article about the method and it's use
Various Publications and Media:
Forbes Articles:
Recent Profile on all of my work:
Intel’s Guide to the Future
Two Scientific American Profiles:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/professional-seer-intel-futurist-brian-david-johnson/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/qa-intel-microprocessor-futurist-johnson/
Previous Events:
We enjoyed hosting Ed Skoudis! Please see the video on the historical background of defining cyberspace as a domain for military engagement, Cyber Persistence Theory, and information dominance and AI!
Ed Skoudis
Founder of Counter Hack, Fellow at SANS Institute
EDUCATION
B.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1992
Ed Skoudis is a highly regarded cybersecurity expert and the founder of Counter Hack, a company that designs and conducts cybersecurity simulations and challenges. He is also a Fellow at the SANS Institute, where he leads the penetration testing and ethical hacking curriculum.
With over 25 years of experience in information security, Ed has contributed to advancing cybersecurity through his teaching, research, and real-world experience. His expertise includes penetration testing, incident response, and malware analysis. Ed is known for breaking down complex cybersecurity concepts into understandable and actionable insights, making him a sought-after speaker and instructor in the field.
Ed has authored numerous articles and books on cybersecurity, including Counter Hack Reloaded, which professionals and organizations widely use as a resource to strengthen their security posture. He also leads the SANS Holiday Hack Challenge, an annual event that provides hands-on learning experiences to thousands of participants worldwide.
Ed has received several awards for his contributions to cybersecurity, including the "Most Valuable Industry Contributor" award from SC Magazine.
We enjoyed hosting Dr. Lubjana Beshaj! Please see the video on the latest advances in cryptography and zero trust architecture below!
Lubjana Beshaj, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Cyber Fellow of Mathematics, Army Cyber Institute
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Mathematics, Oakland University, 2016
M.S. Mathematics, University of Vlora, 2010
B.S. Mathematics and Physics, University of Vlora, 2008
Dr. Lubjana Beshaj is a Cyber Fellow of Mathematics at the Army Cyber Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at West Point. She is a member of the American Mathematical Society and Women in Mathematics. Her research interests include cryptography, elliptic and hyperelliptic curve cryptography, post-quantum cryptography more specifically isogeny based cryptography, Jacobian varieties, and arithmetic of algebraic curves.
She has co-edited two books:
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Algebraic curves and their applications, edited by L. Beshaj and T. Shaska, Contemporary Math. American Math. Soc. volume 724, 2019
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Advances on Superelliptic Curves and Their Applications edited by T.Shaska, E.Zhupa, L.Beshaj, NATO Science for Peace and Security Series D: Information and Communication Security, IOS Press, Amsterdam 2015
We enjoyed hosting Dr. Herb Lin! Please see the video of emerging technology presentation below if you missed it!
Dr. Herb Lin is senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security at the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford University. His research interests relate broadly to policy-related dimensions of cybersecurity and cyberspace, and he is particularly interested in the use of offensive operations in cyberspace as instruments of national policy and in the security dimensions of information warfare and influence operations on national security. In addition to his positions at Stanford University, he is Chief Scientist, Emeritus for the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies, where he served from 1990 through 2014 as study director of major projects on public policy and information technology, and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar and Senior Fellow in Cybersecurity (not in residence) at the Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies in the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University; and a member of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. In 2016, he served on President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. Prior to his NRC service, he was a professional staff member and staff scientist for the House Armed Services Committee (1986-1990), where his portfolio included defense policy and arms control issues. He received his doctorate in physics from MIT.
Avocationally, he is a longtime folk and swing dancer and a lousy magician. Apart from his work on cyberspace and cybersecurity, he is published in cognitive science, science education, biophysics, and arms control and defense policy. He also consults on K-12 math and science education.
We enjoyed hearing Dr. Ravi Starzl's talk on the Potential of AI in the Military Context!
Dr. Ravi Starzl
AI Researcher and Consultant
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Artificial Intelligence, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2007
M.S. Computer Science, Stanford University, 2003
B.S. Computer Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2001
Dr. Ravi Starzl is a leading researcher and consultant in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a specific focus on its applications within military contexts. With a Ph.D. from MIT, Dr. Starzl has spent over a decade exploring the intersection of AI and national defense, emphasizing the ethical and strategic implications of AI in warfare and security operations.
In his recent talk, Dr. Starzl discussed the transformative potential of AI technologies in enhancing decision-making, operational efficiency, and predictive capabilities in military operations. He highlighted the ongoing advancements in autonomous systems, machine learning, and data analytics that could redefine future combat strategies and defense mechanisms.
Dr. Starzl is also a proponent of ensuring the responsible development and deployment of AI in military settings, advocating for robust ethical frameworks and international cooperation to address the challenges posed by AI in this domain. His insights have made significant contributions to policy discussions and research agendas aimed at balancing technological innovation with global security concerns.
Dr. Starzl’s work has been widely published in academic journals and he regularly collaborates with defense agencies and research institutions to drive forward the understanding and application of AI in military contexts.