The Cipher Brief

DNI Day One: Three Strategic Decisions for National Security Evolution

The next DNI will inherit an intelligence enterprise confronting AI-driven disruption, strategic competition, and mounting resource pressures.

Authors’ Note:This paper is intended to frame a discussion, not settle one.Too often, debates about intelligence reform begin with organizational [...] More

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Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Why Human Intelligence Matters More in an AI World

Why Human Intelligence Matters More in an AI World

An impending casualty of artificial intelligence, we are told, is the human spy. The conventional wisdom is that in our AI future, there’s little [...] More

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A NEW REALITY SHOW AT ODNI? The leadership page of the ODNI website now officially reflects William J. Pulte as Acting Director. This, as CNN reports that Pulte showed up at ODNI on Thursday and according to two unnamed sources – asked for a list of every employee in the office “so that he could assess whether to fire them.” It’s no secret that the administration is looking for efficiencies in the organization. Former Senior Intelligence Community Executive Shelby Pierson and former Deputy Director of Intelligence for Sensitive Activities and Special Programs, (yes a real title) Renee Novakoff laid out a list of what’s [...] More

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State Secrets

America's national security challenges are evolving faster than ever—and the traditional defense innovation system is struggling to keep pace.

In this episode of State Secrets, Cipher Brief CEO Suzanne Kelly sits down with two of the most influential voices in defense innovation: Steve Blank, creator of the Lean Startup methodology and co-founder of Hacking for Defense, and Pete Newell, retired Army officer, founder of BMNT, and co-founder of Hacking for Defense.

Together, they discuss how students at leading universities are tackling real-world challenges from the Pentagon, intelligence community, and NASA; why AI is changing the way innovators build solutions; and what it will take for the United States to compete with increasingly adaptive adversaries like China.

The conversation explores defense acquisition reform, the Pentagon's innovation ecosystem, startup culture in national security, the rise of defense venture capital, and why the biggest challenge may not be technology—but people.

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