Call the Red Team: From War Games to AI’s Frontlines

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on the evolving practice of red teaming—the art of thinking like an adversary. Once a niche war gaming tool from the Cold War era, red teaming became a cornerstone of cybersecurity, where ethical hackers simulate attacks to uncover vulnerabilities. Today, red teams composed of both human experts and AI-driven tools are on the frontlines of testing chatbots, facial recognition, and other emerging technologies for risks and flaws. This panel discussion, hosted by Columbia SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics, brings together leading voices from national security, cybersecurity, and AI governance to trace red teaming’s journey across decades and domains. How does red teaming help us understand our adversaries and enhance safety? How can adversarial thinking adapt when our “opponents” are no longer human rivals, but the technologies we create?

Speakers:

Timothy Naftali, Senior Research Scholar and IGP Faculty Advisory Board Member, Columbia SIPA; CNN contributor
Jen Weedon, IGP Technology & Democracy Initiative Researcher and Senior Staff Associate III, Columbia SIPA
Micah Zenko, Director of Research and Learning and a Partner at McChrystal Group, and author of Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy
Camille François (moderator), Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of International and Public Affairs, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member