Inside China’s Cognitive and AI Warfare: A Conversation with Bill Hagestad

Bill Hagestad joins OODAcast to share the personal and professional journey that led him to become a leading analyst of the People’s Republic of China’s cyber, information, and cognitive warfare strategies. He describes his early Marine Corps career as an artilleryman and logistician, his decision to study Mandarin in China in the early 1980s, and how a post-retirement book contract on how China would use computers as a weapon system launched a second career focused on Chinese cyber operations. Bill also explains how his writing, website, and presence on Amazon, LinkedIn, and X provide multiple avenues for practitioners, executives, and analysts to engage with his work.​ The discussion then dives into his major books, including “21st Century Chinese Cyber Warfare,” “21st Century Chinese Cognitive Warfare,” “Chinese Militarization of Artificial Intelligence,” and “Chinese Information Warfare Doctrine Development 1994–2014.” Bill outlines how these works document the evolution of Chinese doctrine across cyber, information, and AI-enabled operations, including early conceptualizations of psychological and cognitive warfare against targets like Taiwan and the broader region. He explains that PRC military and party thinkers are integrating AI, large language models, and automated agents into a broader concept of “informatization” and “intelligentization,” aiming to disrupt adversary OODA loops and win conflicts before opponents fully understand what is happening.​ Finally, Bill turns to the implications for business leaders and national security professionals, explaining how he supports Fortune 50 and other firms with board briefings, red-teaming, and tabletop exercises focused on PRC risk, supply chains, and corporate exposure. He offers pragmatic guidance for firms operating in China, from understanding political red lines and compliance expectations to recognizing how the PRC uses economic tools and the Belt and Road Initiative as instruments of “dissipative warfare” and economic colonization. Bill closes by urging leaders to focus less on “what’s next” in abstract and more on clearly seeing what China is already doing across diplomatic, informational, military, and economic lines of effort today. For more on OODA LLC's approach to business intelligence, due diligence and cybersecurity consulting see: https://www.ooda.com And for deep insights into geopolitical, tech and cyber risks and to join the OODA network see: https://www.oodaloop.com #cybersecurity #OODA #OODAloop #intelligence #cyber #analysis #artificialintelligence #AI #OSINT #opensource #infosec #CTO #CISO #CEO