DARPA

The Biden Administration Embraces “Democracy Affirming Technologies”

President Biden has called the defense of democracy “the defining challenge of our time.” With authoritarian governments doubling down on AI-enabled techniques for mass surveillance and social control, putting out the call to citizen coders...

Technology: Connector or Isolator?

Over a week out from attending Techonomy, and the main theme is still resonating with me: the convergence of man and machine. What happens at this intersection is something that will only increase in importance,...

Techonomy 2017: Optimism Tempered with Concerns

Techonomy 2017 opened Sunday with a mind-bending array of possibilities coupled with an equal number of ethical quandaries. The opening day looked at the convergence of man and machine, raising the prospect of neuro-technololy that...

We’re One Step Closer to Robots on the Battlefield

Last week, the robotics industry made a huge leap forward, with the Navy announcing that it planned to test a humanoid robot built to fight fires at sea this August. The robot, called the Shipboard...

Could We Lose Control of Killer Robots?

The belief that humanoid robots are dangerous on the battlefield and need to be slowed before weapons systems become autonomous is at the heart of a debate raging in the robotic engineering community. On one...

Next Trick for Laser Printers: Manufacturing Electronics

Since Xerox researchers revolutionized putting ink on paper with the invention of the laser printer in 1969, the technology has been applied to "printing" DNA as well as 3D structures. Now the approach has a...

Defense Department Funds High School “Hackerspaces”

A new $10 million federal program is bringing “hackerspaces” to high schools, the New York Times reports. Hackerspaces are community groups for hackers to build and invent technology (and take things apart). They are considered...

How the U.S. Can Reinvent Manufacturing

‘Manufacturing 2.0’ is a radical shift already underway, and many key elements are taking shape. As technologies and business models evolve, we have an opportunity in the US to create and own the future of...