Psychosecurity Ethics @ EURAIO

Psychosecurity Ethics is a specialized program within EURAIO, the European Responsible Artificial Intelligence Office, a nonprofit founded in 2022 that advises organizations on implementing AI in legally compliant, ethically responsible, and socially correct ways. EURAIO is led by Nell Watson, an engineer, ethicist, and author who serves as President and Chair of the Supervisory Board. The Psychosecurity Ethics initiative addresses an emerging area of AI risk: the potential for AI systems, particularly agentic AI, to engage in psychological manipulation, adaptive persuasion, and sophisticated demoralization campaigns that erode human autonomy and civil liberties. Watson, who pioneered research into AI-induced psychological effects and coined the concept of psychosecurity, frames these risks as a form of AI-driven Zersetzung, referencing Cold War-era psychological manipulation tactics now potentially scalable through AI. The initiative's flagship project is the Psychosecurity Summit, an intensive, invite-only working session planned for Spring/Summer 2026 in London. The event aims to bring together approximately 30 senior military, intelligence, NATO, and civilian experts to produce six concrete deliverables: a taxonomy distinguishing legitimate from prohibited AI cognitive operations, ethics redlines on a graduated scale of operational acceptability, escalation thresholds for state-level response, an attribution framework for identifying cognitive attacks, industry accountability safeguards preventing weaponization of commercial AI, and the Psychosecurity Declaration defining AI-driven Zersetzung as a potential crime against humanity. Nell Watson brings extensive credentials to this work, including roles as IEEE AI Ethics Maestro, Chair of IEEE's ECPAIS Transparency Experts Focus Group, Vice Chair of IEEE P7001 (Transparency of Autonomous Systems), and EU AI Act General-Purpose AI Code of Practice Expert for the European Commission. She is the author of Taming the Machine: Ethically Harness the Power of AI and co-author of Safer Agentic AI: Principles and Responsible Practices. Simona Popa, an entrepreneur with expertise in organizational psychology, co-convenes the summit events. The program received a $38,000 grant recommendation from the Survival and Flourishing Fund's 2024 S-Process round (Freedom Track), with $19,720 distributed as a speculation grant. It was further recommended for $50,000 in additional funding scenarios. The initiative operates through the Players Philanthropy Fund as its fiscal sponsor for US-based grantmaking.