In this episode of the Siren Investigates Podcast, John Randles, CEO of Siren, sits down with John Mackey, CEO of MBryonics and Ruth Mackey CISO, to explore how an Irish deep-tech company is helping shape the future of global communications, space infrastructure and security.

Broadcasting from Galway, the conversation dives into the origins of MBryonics, a pioneering company developing optical and photonic communication systems for space-based networks. From adaptive optics research at the University of Galway to winning advanced communications programs with DARPA and the European Space Agency, the Mackey siblings share the remarkable journey of building a globally significant space-tech company from the West of Ireland.

The discussion explores the rise of optical satellite communications, the race to create an “internet of space,” Europe’s growing focus on dual-use technologies and how AI, photonics, and secure communications are reshaping both commercial and defense infrastructure.

The episode also examines:

🪐 The convergence of AI, satellite intelligence, and global connectivity

🪐 Ireland’s opportunity to become a strategic player in the European space economy

🪐 The realities of building sovereign manufacturing and supply chain resilience

🪐 Why space infrastructure is becoming critical to national security

🪐 The future of communications between Earth, satellites and even the Moon

A fascinating conversation on innovation, geopolitics, manufacturing and the technologies that will define the next generation of global connectivity.

In this episode of Siren Investigates, John Randles sits down with Dr. Sae Schatz, Founder and CEO of The Knowledge Forge, former Director at the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative and co-author of Engines of Engagement.

Together, they explore a critical question of our time:

Will AI make us better decision-makers or systematically degrade our thinking?

We are now living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a convergence of digital, physical, and biological systems. Generative AI, hyper-personalization, deepfakes, cognitive overload, and synthetic media are reshaping how humans learn, decide, trust, and perceive reality itself. 🚀🏭🤖✨

Dr. Schatz breaks down:

🥷 What cognitive warfare really means

💫 How attention became the core commodity of the digital age

🤨 Why we are “information rich but trust poor”

🤖 The rise of AI-enabled scams, ransomware-as-a-service, and deepfake fraud

🥷 The psychology behind misinformation and emotional contagion

💻 “Work slop” and the hidden productivity tax of generative AI

👉 The concept of trusted wayfinding in an era of overload

🧠 How organizations can build cognitive resilience

This conversation exposes how information operations are evolving from propaganda into full-spectrum cognitive manipulation, from the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar to hybrid warfare doctrines inside NATO.

They discuss:

🟡 Dual-process theory (System 1 vs. System 2 thinking)

🟡 The paradox of choice and decision fatigue

🔵 Emotional contagion algorithms

🟣 The “liar’s dividend” effect

🔵 AI-enabled hyper-personalization targeting individuals

🟣 The shift from the attention economy to the trust economy

If you work in intelligence, investigations, cybersecurity, defense, public policy, or leadership — this episode is essential viewing.

Because the battlefield is no longer just physical. It’s cognitive.

🎙 About Siren Investigates

The podcast exploring how we keep people, assets, and networks safe in an era of accelerating technological change.

⛓️‍💥 Human trafficking is often hidden in plain sight but it leaves financial evidence. In this episode of Siren Investigates, John Randles is joined by Robert Reed, Chief Operating Officer of the International Bank of Chicago and founder of Reed Advancements, to explore how financial data, compliance systems, and investigative technology can be used to uncover and disrupt human trafficking networks. Drawing on decades of experience across global banking, AML, and forensic investigations, Robert explains how trafficking activity surfaces in transaction data, why traditional compliance approaches fall short, and how enhanced data analytics, AI, and cross-sector collaboration can save lives when used effectively. In this episode, they discuss: ⛓️‍💥 How human trafficking activity appears in financial transactions and behavioural patterns ⛓️‍💥 Why “following the money” remains one of the most effective ways to expose exploitation ⛓️‍💥 The role banks play in detecting trafficking through AML and SAR reportingReal-world examples where data analysis directly led to shutting down illicit operations ⛓️‍💥 How technologies like AI and entity resolution can accelerate investigations ⛓️‍💥 Why data collection alone is not enough—and why data utilisation matters What regulators, corporations, and everyday citizens can do to help combat trafficking This is a powerful conversation about the human reality behind financial data and how investigators, technologists, and institutions can work together to protect vulnerable people and dismantle criminal networks. Listen now to understand how financial intelligence can be a force for good