Benjamin Jensen

Director, Futures Lab and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department
Benjamin Jensen

Benjamin Jensen is director of the Futures Lab and a senior fellow for the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). At CSIS, Dr. Jensen leads research initiatives on applying data science and AI and machine learning to study the changing character of war and statecraft. Under his leadership, Futures Lab has pioneered building AI applications into wargames and innovative scenario exercises. The exercise topics range from major war, competitive strategy, and national mobilization to economic security, energy politics, and national resilience. He is also the Frank E. Petersen Chair for Emerging Technology and a professor of strategic studies at the Marine Corps University School of Advanced Warfighting (MCU). At MCU, he leads a research program on future war and teaches seminars on modern operational art and joint-all domain operations. Dr. Jensen has authored five books including Information at War: Military Innovation, Battle Networks, and the Future of Artificial Intelligence (Georgetown University Press, 2022), Military Strategy in the 21st Century: People, Connectivity, and Competition (Cambria, 2018), Cyber Strategy: The Evolving Character of Power and Coercion (Oxford University Press, 2018), and Forging the Sword: Doctrinal Change in the U.S. Army (Stanford University Press 2016). He also served as senior research director for the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission and is a reserve officer in the U.S. Army, with command experience from platoon to battalion. Dr. Jensen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned his MA and PhD from the American University School of International Service.

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Testing the Future of Joint All-Domain Operations in Africa

Africa’s open terrain could become the proving ground for next-generation warfare, helping the U.S. and partners test drones, electronic warfare, and joint all-domain operations while signaling deterrence to China and Russia.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen and Soufiane Ammagui — May 26, 2026

The Vatican Just Outmaneuvered Washington on AI

The Vatican’s AI intervention exposes Washington’s blind spot: Policymakers are debating hypothetical doomsday scenarios while missing the real crises already reshaping human dignity, work, truth, and power. Washington must move beyond abstract AGI fears and build a civil society dialogue on human dignity, supply chains, truth, and statecraft.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen — May 26, 2026

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Revisiting the Relationship Between Economic and Sea Power

An audio version of “⁠Revisiting the Relationship Between Economic and Sea Power⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Benjamin Jensen with Mackenzie Eaglen. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Benjamin Jensen and Mackenzie Eaglen — May 22, 2026

Audio Briefs

Revisiting the Relationship Between Economic and Sea Power

Sea power begins with economic power. MAP and the SHIPS Act seek to rebuild the maritime industrial base—shipyards, mariners, logistics networks, and commercial fleets—that underpins U.S. naval strategy and will bolster U.S. maritime competitiveness against China.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen and Mackenzie Eaglen — May 22, 2026

Audio Briefs

The AI Escalation Danger Trump and Xi Must Address

An audio version of "⁠The AI Escalation Danger Trump and Xi Must Address⁠," a new Commentary by CSIS's Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan — May 12, 2026

Audio Briefs

The AI Escalation Danger Trump and Xi Must Address

As Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing on May 14–15 to discuss the future of U.S.-China AI cooperation, concerns are growing over escalatory tendencies in models like DeepSeek. Common AI benchmarking may offer a path toward safer development.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan — May 12, 2026

How to Lose an Information War in 10 Days

The United States cannot win modern wars on the battlefield alone. To counter adversaries’ information operations, Washington needs faster public diplomacy, stronger information coordination, and credible messaging before disinformation spreads.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen, Nico Vacca, and Jose M. Macias III — May 5, 2026

Audio Briefs

How to Lose an Information War in 10 Days

An audio version of “⁠How to Lose an Information War in 10 Days⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Benjamin Jensen, Nico Vacca, and Jose M. Macias III. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Benjamin Jensen, Nico Vacca, and Jose M. Macias III — May 5, 2026

Audio Briefs

The Geometry of Coercion: Tracking the PRC’s Maritime and Air Pressure on Taiwan

China’s rising maritime and air incursions around Taiwan reveal a sustained coercion campaign designed to normalize pressure below the threshold of war, raising urgent questions about how the United States and its allies can shift from reactive responses to persistent deterrence.

Report by Jose M. Macias III and Benjamin Jensen — May 5, 2026

AI and the Future of Mediation

As conflicts grow more complex and harder to resolve, AI offers new tools for mediation, but also new risks. This report explores how algorithmic systems can support negotiators without undermining trust, confidentiality, or human judgment.

Report by Yasir Atalan, Benjamin Jensen, and Ian Reynolds — April 27, 2026