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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Drone Saturation: Russia’s Shahed Campaign

Starting in September 2024, Russia significantly ramped up its use of Shahed drones, increasing from approximately 200 launches per week to more than 1,000 per week by March 2025 as part of a sustained pressure campaign.

Brief by Benjamin Jensen and Yasir Atalan — May 13, 2025

The Truth of the Matter

Analyzing Missile Attacks in Ukraine

CSIS’s Benjamin Jensen, director of the CSIS Futures Lab and senior fellow in the CSIS Defense and Security Department, joins the podcast to discuss the CSIS Russian Firepower Strike Tracker and how to quantify wartime tactics.

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Benjamin Jensen — May 9, 2025

CSIS the truth of the matter

Protecting Our Edge: Trade Secrets and the Global AI Arms Race

As AI enters the agentic era, the U.S. faces a critical choice: lead with innovation or fall to IP theft and espionage. As illicit tactics threaten American AI leadership, it will be important to bolster cyber defenses to protect both U.S AI and IP security from adversaries.

Congressional Testimony by Benjamin Jensen — May 7, 2025

Operational Fires in the Age of Punishment

Russia’s decoupling of firepower from maneuver in Ukraine signals a dangerous shift toward punitive, algorithmic warfare—forcing NATO to rethink doctrine, deterrence, and the role of human-machine integration in future conflicts.

Report by Benjamin Jensen and Jose M. Macias III — May 6, 2025

Asking AI How to Respond to a Foreign Policy Decision

AI models have built-in biases that factor into their decisionmaking. These biases should be mitigated before integrating them into foreign policy processes.

Analysis by Yasir Atalan, Benjamin Jensen, and Ian Reynolds — April 17, 2025

Audio Briefs

Winning the Tech Race with China Requires More than Restrictions

An audio version of “Winning the Tech Race with China Requires More than Restrictions,” a new commentary by CSIS's Benjamin Jensen. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Benjamin Jensen — April 17, 2025

Audio Briefs
Audio Briefs

Hawkish AI? Uncovering DeepSeek’s Foreign Policy Biases

An audio version of “Hawkish AI? Uncovering DeepSeek’s Foreign Policy Biases,” a new commentary by CSIS's Ian Reynolds, Benjamin Jensen, and Yasir Atalan. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Ian Reynolds, Benjamin Jensen, and Yasir Atalan — April 16, 2025

Audio Briefs