• What If We Used AI to Strengthen Democracy?

    AI is just the latest technology in a long line of innovations through history that have influenced politics. While many experts fear artificial intelligence will be deployed to weaken democracy, examples abound around the world of it being used to make systems fairer. Surveillance, control, propaganda aren’t the only options, says security technologist.

  • Cutting Nuclear Power Plant Costs: Argonne Develops Framework for Smarter Maintenance

    Merge a multiphysics simulation with real nuclear reactor inspection data and the result is a revolutionizing tool that predicts component failure before it happens. The study combines advanced simulations with real-world testing to predict how feedwater heater tubes, which preheat water before it enters a nuclear reactor, break down over time. The powerful new tool improves maintenance strategies and extend component lifespan.

  • INL Advances Department of Defense’s Project Pele Demonstration Microreactor with First TRISO Fuel Delivery

    The recent delivery of advanced nuclear fuel to the Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test Facility marks a major milestone for Project Pele, a first-of-its-kind mobile microreactor prototype designed to provide resilient power for military operations.

  • Generative AI Speeds up Cybersecurity Defenses

    Faster adversary emulation helps defenders stop cyberattacks: Scientists are using generative AI to accelerate a key step in the defense against cyberattacks, performing complex operations in minutes instead of weeks.

  • Three National Security Laboratories, One AI Model

    A significant milestone has been not only accomplished but exceeded in the effort to advance artificial intelligence for national security: A federated-learning model prototype. Federated learning is a technique for training AI models on decentralized data.

  • How Hollywood-Style “Break in” Rooms Are Securing the Future of Nuclear

    Security is paramount for the nation’s current fleet of light water reactors, but the stakes for small modular reactors are especially high. Small modular reactors promise quicker build timelines and lower operating costs than light water reactors. They achieve these enhancements through better designs, higher levels of automation and smaller operating crews. But those same design choices could expand the opportunity for cyber and insider threats.

  • Entity Resolution: The Security Technology You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

    The concept “entity resolution” (ER) is probably unfamiliar, but it underpins much of the world’s security—in telecommunications, banking and national security.

  • There’s Little Evidence Tech Is Much Help Stopping School Shootings

    Different security technologies appeal to institutions struggling to protect their communities, and are marketed aggressively as the future of school shooting prevention. I’m a criminologist who studies mass shootings and school violence. In my research, I’ve found that there’s a lack of evidence to support the effectiveness of these technological interventions.

  • “DeepSeek Is in the Driver’s Seat. That’s a Big Security Problem”

    Democratic countries have a smart-car problem. For those that don’t act quickly and decisively, it’s about to become a severe national security headache.

  • A Prisoner’s Dilemma in the Race to Artificial General Intelligence

    A new report from RAND aims to represent the ongoing policy debate on the race to artificial general intelligence (AGI) in a mathematically neutral model which allows policymakers to compare the outcome of alternative strategies in international technology competition.

  • Capturing Rogue Drones

    A new system is capable of repelling and capturing unauthorized drones. The defensive system’s own drones are equipped with an extendable net which snags unruly drones.

  • Scientists Pioneer Breakthrough Fingerprint Forensic Test

    For decades, investigators have struggled to recover fingerprints from weapons because any biological trace is usually destroyed by the high temperatures, friction and gas released after a gun is fired. Scientists have developed a method to recover fingerprints from ammunition casing, once thought nearly impossible.

  • Using Smartphones to Improve Disaster Search and Rescue

    When a natural disaster strikes, time is of the essence if people are trapped under rubble.When visibility is limited, sound that can penetrate through rubble is the key to finding trapped victims quickly.

  • Future of Geothermal in New Mexico

    New Mexico is known for bringing the heat with its famous green chiles, but a new report points to another source of heat that’s causing excitement. A new report lays out the opportunities —and challenges —to harnessing the state’s geothermal resources as a reliable, sustained domestic source of energy.

  • China: An Emerging Software Power

    China’s early success in global AI competition, bolstered by continued massive state investment and other advantages, could help it extend its dominance in international markets for manufactured goods to the software realm.