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Gaza War: Israel Using AI to Identify Human Targets Raising Fears That Innocents Are Being Caught in the Net
A new report finds that AI targeting systems have played a key role in identifying – and potentially misidentifying – tens of thousands of targets in Gaza. This suggests that autonomous warfare is no longer a future scenario. It is already here and the consequences are horrifying.
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OPEN Program Seeks to Prove Technology Capability for Global Critical Materials Market Transparency
Transparency in critical materials markets is essential to ensuring readiness and to the national security of the United States. It’s also vital to protecting consumers and businesses from the economic costs that stem from supply chain disruptions. DARPA effort selects companies to develop technology for critical commodity pricing, supply, and demand forecasting.
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Action Needed to Improve U.S. Smallpox Readiness and Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Therapeutics: Report
A new report says that action is needed to enhance U.S. readiness for smallpox and related diseases, as well as to improve diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics that could be used in case of an outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed weaknesses in the ability of U.S. public health and health care systems to adapt and respond to an unfamiliar pathogen, as did challenges during the recent mpox outbreak to rapidly making diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics available at scale.
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A New Way to Detect Radiation Involving Cheap Ceramics
The radiation detectors used today for applications like inspecting cargo ships for smuggled nuclear materials are expensive and cannot operate in harsh environments, among other disadvantages. Work by MIT engineers could lead to plethora of new applications, including better detectors for nuclear materials at ports.
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Critical Minerals in Africa: Strengthening Security, Supporting Development, and Reducing Conflict amid Geopolitical Competition
US economic and national security depends on a reliable supply of critical minerals that underlie an array of products and services important to ever-changing modern economies. Yet for many critical minerals (e.g., cobalt, graphite, and manganese), the United States is heavily dependent on imports. Especially concerning is that the United States is at or near 100 percent reliant on “foreign entities of concern”—mainly the People’s Republic of China—for key critical minerals. Africa can play an important role in strengthening US critical minerals supply chain security.
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Artificial Intelligence and Critical Infrastructure
What is the technology availability for AI applications in critical infrastructure in the next ten years? What risks and scenarios (consisting of threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences) is AI likely to present for critical infrastructure applications in the next ten years?
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Tech War: China Could Face U.S., EU Curbs Over Legacy Chips Dominance
Legacy chips, used in everything from washing machines to cars and TVs to medical devices, may not be as powerful as the state-of-the-art semiconductors that power artificial intelligence (AI) platforms. But they’re a growing headache for the United States and European Union: After the United States cut China’s access to cutting-edge chips, the EU and the United States are concerned about the country’s dominance of semiconductors used in everyday technology.
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Deepfake Defense Tech Ready for Commercialization
The threat of manipulated media has steadily increased as automated manipulation technologies become more accessible, and social media continues to provide a ripe environment for viral content sharing. The speed, scale, and breadth at which massive disinformation campaigns can unfold require computational defenses and automated algorithms to help humans discern what content is real and what’s been manipulated or synthesized, why, and how.
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New Geo-Tracking Buoys Make a Splash During Live Test Events
New rugged buoy technologies equipped with Automatic Identification Systems aim to help the U.S. Coast Guard mark and track objects in the water.
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Top Computer Scientists: The Future of Artificial Intelligence Is Similar to That of Star Trek
Leading computer scientists from around the world have shared their vision for the future of artificial intelligence – and it resembles the capabilities of Star Trek character ‘The Borg’.
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Cybertech Startup Aims to Keep Aircraft Safe
As hackers get more daring and sophisticated, and even try to hijack airplanes, it’s increasingly vital to keep our aircraft safe from attack. Cybertech startup Cyviation aims to do just that.
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Engineers Fortifying Critical Infrastructure
In a bid to protect the nation’s energy sector against cyber attacks, engineers are creating a digital twin to help weed out threats and fix software and firmware vulnerabilities. If left unchecked, these weaknesses could allow ransomware attacks that could cause severe havoc to critical U.S. energy systems.
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Where Did All the Water Go? New Study Explores Water Use in the Colorado River Basin.
The final 100 miles of the Colorado River is a shell of its former self — nearly 10 miles wide at the turn of the century, farmers had more water than they knew what to do with. Now, a weave of concrete canals brings water to sprawling industrial farms situated in the Mexicali Valley, with much of the natural riverbed dry and the wildlife sparse. Where did all the water go?
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States and Tribes Scramble to Reach Colorado River Deals Before Election
There are three main forces driving the conflict on the Colorado River. The first is an outdated legal system that guarantees more water to seven Western states than is actually available in the river during most years. The second is the exclusion of Native American tribes from this legal system. The third is climate change, which is heating up the western United States and diminishing the winter snowfall and rainwater that feed the river. Landmark agreements would cut big states’ water usage for decades and deliver water to the Navajo Nation.
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Canada’s Biosecurity Scandal: The Risks of Foreign Interference in Life Sciences
In July 2019, world-renowned biological researchers Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng were quietly walked out of the Canadian government’s National Microbiology Lab (NML). The original allegation against them was that Qiu had authorized a shipment to China of some of the deadliest viruses on the planet, including Ebola and Nipah. Then the story seemed to go away—until now.
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More headlines
The long view
Encryption Breakthrough Lays Groundwork for Privacy-Preserving AI Models
In an era where data privacy concerns loom large, a new approach in artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape how sensitive information is processed. New AI framework enables secure neural network computation without sacrificing accuracy.
AI-Controlled Fighter Jets May Be Closer Than We Think — and Would Change the Face of Warfare
Could we be on the verge of an era where fighter jets take flight without pilots – and are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI)? US R Adm Michael Donnelly recently said that an upcoming combat jet could be the navy’s last one with a pilot in the cockpit.
The Potential Impact of Seabed Mining on Critical Mineral Supply Chains and Global Geopolitics
The potential emergence of a seabed mining industry has important ramifications for the diversification of critical mineral supply chains, revenues for developing nations with substantial terrestrial mining sectors, and global geopolitics.
AI and the Future of the U.S. Electric Grid
Despite its age, the U.S. electric grid remains one of the great workhorses of modern life. Whether it can maintain that performance over the next few years may determine how well the U.S. competes in an AI-driven world.
Using Liquid Air for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
New research finds liquid air energy storage could be the lowest-cost option for ensuring a continuous power supply on a future grid dominated by carbon-free but intermittent sources of electricity.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems: A Promising Source of Round-the-Clock Energy
With its capacity to provide 24/7 power, many are warming up to the prospect of geothermal energy. Scientists are currently working to advance human-made reservoirs in Earth’s deep subsurface to stimulate the activity that exists within natural geothermal systems.