Business
Google’s New Ethics Rules Forbid Using Its AI for Weapons
In the wake of an employee protest, the internet giant also vows not to use AI in surveillance tools that would violate “internationally accepted norms.”
Defense Systems
Air Force announces partnership to push emerging tech
The Air Force Academy inked a five-year cooperative research and development agreement with telecom giant AT&T to keep better pace with the speed of commercial advancement.
Ideas
Pentagon to Industry: Show Us Your Latest Information-Warfare Tools
The Joint Information Operations Warfare CenterJoint Information Operations Warfare Center wants to know the realm of the possible.
Science & Tech
Russia, Too, Is Building a Giant War Cloud
It’s the latest improvement in the Russian military’s ability to operate off the rest of the world’s grid.
Ideas
What Happens in the Gulf Doesn’t Stay in the Gulf
A year after the Qatar crisis began, it’s having potentially dangerous reverberations in the Horn of Africa.
Ideas
Rick Perry Should Not Be Allowed to Pick Nuclear Weapons
The Trump administration and its allies in Congress want the Energy Secretary to determine whether to develop a new class of low-yield nuclear weapons.
Science & Tech
Lockheed Boosts Investment in Early-Stage Tech Companies
Silicon Valley isn’t closing itself off to military money, just because Google is.
Threats
What a Small ISIS Cell in Trinidad is Teaching SOUTHCOM
Just because a country is relatively small doesn’t diminish the threat, or the difficulty of mustering a counter-effort.
Ideas
Drone Strikes Expand, Hustling the US Down a Risky Path
It’s time to rethink the tradeoffs between tactical efficiency and strategic risk. A new Stimson Center report lays them out.
Defense Systems
Congress looks to clamp down on DOD cloud plans
The House defense appropriations bill includes new reporting requirements on the JEDI project and the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions cloud efforts.
Ideas
How Sanctions Feed Authoritarianism
Past experience shows that economic pressure does change societies—but it mostly facilitates hardliners. Iran’s regime may be next.
Ideas
Trump Is Choosing Eastern Europe
That is the subtext of the mini-crises sparked by his ambassador to Germany and of a recent speech by the assistant secretary of state for Europe.
Ideas
An Alliance Too Far: The Case Against a Cyber NATO
Should such an organization even get off the ground, it would soon fall apart. But there are other paths to take.
Defense Systems
Army aims for robot vehicles on the battlefield by 2028
It's not Skynet yet, but Army Secretary Mark Esper says robotics will change the fundamentals of warfare and that getting there first provides a distinct advantage.
Threats
Beijing Announces Inaugural China-Africa Defense Forum
Hosted by the Ministry of Defense, the June 26-July 10 event is just Beijing's latest effort to deepen ties with the continent.
Ideas