OUR PICKSF.B.I. Releases Redacted Report on Havana Syndrome | Chatbots Are Primed to Warp Reality | Design Principles for Responsible AI in Homeland Security, and more
· F.B.I. Releases Redacted Report on Havana Syndrome
Some current and former officials have said the 2019 F.B.I. analysis sowed doubt within the C.I.A. and parts of the Trump administration about the root causes of the ailments
· The Wildfire Risk in America’s Front Yards
If we really want to keep communities safe, we need to think about where we build, and with what
· Chatbots Are Primed to Warp Reality
A growing body of research shows how AI can subtly mislead users—and even implant false memories
· The Plot to Attack Taylor Swift’s Vienna Shows Was Intended to Kill Thousands, a CIA Official Says
Plotters sought to kill “tens of thousands” of fans before the CIA discovered intelligence that disrupted the planning
· Applying Design Principles for Responsible AI in Homeland Security
Given the multiple areas that homeland security encompasses in the U.S., the market for AI technologies to support the homeland security enterprise is ever expanding
F.B.I. Releases Redacted Report on Havana Syndrome (Adam Goldman and Julian E. Barnes, New York Times)
The F.B.I. on Friday released a redacted portion of a 2019 report that was one of the first to argue that the mysterious ailments known as Havana syndrome were likely not the result of hostile action, and instead were the result of “social contagion.”
Some current and former officials have said the F.B.I. analysis sowed doubt within the C.I.A. and parts of the Trump administration toward the root causes of Havana syndrome and whether it was in fact a functional illness spurred by stress.
As a result, people with symptoms of Havana syndrome and their legal representatives have long disparaged the F.B.I. findings, noting that the investigators reviewed records but did not interview victims.
The New York Times obtained the executive summary of the report as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The Wildfire Risk in America’s Front Yards (Kylie Mohr, The Atlantic)
If you live in a single-family house, chances are it’s made, or at least framed, with wood. Older homes may well also have a wood roof, and perhaps a wood deck. There might be a neat stack of firewood and wicker furniture on that deck, not to mention some synthetic carpets, curtains, and couches inside. In the face of wildfires, this home construction is an inferno waiting to happen. Embers, sometimes traveling miles ahead of a flame front, might land on the roof, catching it on fire then penetrating vents and starting to burn the interior. The house itself would then start launching embers, its radiant heat hot enough to ignite a nearby home. Pretty soon, a whole neighborhood can go up in flames.
In the past decade alone, millions of acres and thousands of homes in the U.S., mostly in the West, have burned in wildfires. So far, national and state approaches emphasize wildfire risk reduction in our forests. But it isn’t just trees fueling wildfires. Our houses are fuel too. As fires grow in size, intensity, and frequency, experts say we need to tackle the most intimate part of wildfire risk—our own homes and neighborhoods. (Cont.)
