ASCRIBE

Asymmetric actors and the networks in which they operate are prominent components in the modern battlespace. While the United States has developed sophisticated data gathering capabilities and recent technological innovations have led to improved information fusion, massive volumes of data remain unused or under-used because the data cannot be converted into the information that the warfighter needs. Consequently, situational awareness is impaired, many individuals and networks are not understood, and warfighters are often forced to “fly blind” over the human terrain. To address this gap, 21st Century Technologies (21CT) proposes ASCRIBE – Adapting SNA Computations and Relevant Intelligence for Behavior Extrapolation. ASCRIBE will marry the computational science capable of producing high-level mathematical models of human activity with the social science that allows the creation of behavioral models of individual people and networks. ASCRIBE leverages 21CT’s extensive experience in processing, refining and fusing intelligence data on asymmetric actors and networks. For the ASCRIBE project, we have partnered with Professor Sean Everton, of the Naval Postgraduate School, who is a social scientist specializing in the study of dark networks and asymmetric threat actors. ASCRIBE will research and ultimately realize technology that fills a critical gap in our ability to exploit intelligence data