Intelligence and Social Epistemology - Toward a Social Epistemological Theory of Intelligence

Pili, Giangiuseppe

doi:10.1080/02691728.2019.1658823

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Intelligence agencies have an epistemic function (Pili 2019) and they construct the knowledge of threats to national security. They formulate and re-formulate who is a threat and assign enemy images.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intelligence products concerning these narratives serve as a basis for policy making. Pili (2019) considers intelligence agencies as social epistemic institutions, "organisations with the goal of providing knowledge and foreknowledge of an enemy's intentions and behaviour to the decision maker." However, this knowledge is limited by a number of factors, including time and resources, as well as by the focus of intelligence gathering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The construction of threats by intelligence agencies: analysing the language of official documents in Slovakia

Kovanič

2021

Critical Studies on Terrorism

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Intelligence agencies play a prominent role in the production of knowledge about national security threats and their evaluation. This function is not just a value-neutral technical activity, but a social and political action. The purpose of this article is to explore the ways in which the Slovak Information Service, an intelligence agency responsible for the protection of national security, discursively constructs security threats and assigns enemy images to specific actors. The analysis was conducted on the publicly available parts of the agency's Annual Reports. It utilised qualitative document analysis, supplemented by quantitative analysis of the frequency of use of specific keywords. The analysis, which identified the main threats connected to internal security, is constructed in a manner which connects terrorism with migration and the Muslim faith, assigning terror identities to specific groups. The agency's constructions of internal threats were also utilised in the political discourse. Moreover, securitisation rhetoric was used in connection to the movements promoting human rights and fighting fascism, labelling them as left-wing extremists. In the field of foreign threats, their construction depends on both international developments and domestic political dynamics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The construction of threats by intelligence agencies: analysing the language of official documents in Slovakia

Kovanič

2021

Critical Studies on Terrorism

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“…It is questionable, then, that a high-tech piece of equipment could provide the solution to intelligence analysis because intelligence analysis is itself part of a political activity: a process generated by complex external friction in which the human factor is a key ingredient. Although the peril of a harmful intelligence politicization is always there, intelligence is still inherently 'politically laden' from within and from without and, therefore, an intrinsically human activity (Pili, 2019b). It is politically laden from within because the policy is defined by human needs, values, and goals which intelligence analysts must cope with and which cannot be reduced into a set of rigid rules, as recent studies have clearly showed.…”

Section: Two Extreme Positions On Technology and Intelligence Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Why HAL 9000 is not the future of intelligence analysis

Pili¹

2021

JICW

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Intelligence analysis is a core function of the intelligence process, and its goal is to synthesize reliable information to assist decision-makers to take a course of action toward an uncertain future. There is no escape from uncertainty, friction, and the fog of war. Since the dawn of human history, the present moment has been experienced as unpredictable, and the challenge of determining the right future through sound decisions has always existed. Investing in new technology, continually touted as the answer for analytic troubles, seems far less difficult in the short run than trying to find consensus about a long-term vision. It is easier to develop a nuclear missile, for example, than to give a universal definition of peace, and this is what the history of the XX century was all about. While intelligence analysis is still a necessary tool for decision-makers, it is unclear who or what will perform this function in the future. Though the solution cannot be only technological, the current trajectory tells a different story whereby the human analysts are removed from their central position to make way for Artificial Intelligence.

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A fundamental re-conceputalization of intelligence: cognitive activity and the pursuit of advantage

Cox

2021

Intelligence and National Security

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Intelligence and Social Epistemology - Toward a Social Epistemological Theory of Intelligence

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

The construction of threats by intelligence agencies: analysing the language of official documents in Slovakia

The construction of threats by intelligence agencies: analysing the language of official documents in Slovakia

Why HAL 9000 is not the future of intelligence analysis

A fundamental re-conceputalization of intelligence: cognitive activity and the pursuit of advantage

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