Ideas

Teaching Machines How to Spell Will Help Catch Terrorists

It’s time anti-terrorism technology move beyond finding ways to replace humans and start finding ways to work with us. By David Murgatroyd

Science & Tech

Meet the Company That Built 'Cuban Twitter'

This is what Internet diplomacy looks like. By Robinson Meyer

Science & Tech

The U.S. Tried to Use Social Media to Overthrow the Cuban Regime

USAID spent years creating a ‘Cuban Twitter’ to try to overthrow the island’s communist government. By Adam Pasick

Science & Tech

Inside the Military’s New Office for Cyborgs

DARPA’s Arati Prabhakar tells Defense One that cutting-edge biology research is the future of national security -- and how we’ll get our Star Trek tricorders. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

How the NSA Can Use Metadata to Predict Your Personality

Despite assurances that metadata is free of content, new research shows that it can be highly personal. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

Big Data, Synthetic Biology and Space Planes Are the Weapons of the Future

DARPA’s FY15 budget is full of more money for cutting-edge capabilities like big data, synthetic biology and space planes. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

Lawmakers, Obama Want to End NSA’s Bulk Data Collection

Some of the fiercest defenders of the NSA now want to end the agency's controversial practice of collecting records on millions of phone calls. By Brendan Sasso

Science & Tech

Drone Warfare Is Why We Can't Find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370

If you’re sick of not being able to find planes with today’s technology, just wait – it’s actually going to get worse. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

How the Military’s Bomb-Detecting Lasers Will Protect You From the Flu

High-powered, small and cheap UV lasers could detect biological containments of the lethal or simply annoying variety. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

NSA 'Time Machine' Can Spy on Phone Conversations of Americans Abroad

A newly disclosed NSA program can collect ‘100 percent’ of a foreign country’s calls, including from Americans living and working there. Dustin Volz

Science & Tech

How the U.S. Outsmarted Everyone by Giving Up the Internet

By relinquishing control of some aspects of Internet governance, the U.S. may have outflanked China and Russia. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

Weekend Cyberattacks Target NATO, U.S. Military Commands

Russian group hits several NATO websites on eve of Crimea vote, but U.S. military denies Syrian hacktivists breached CENTCOM, PACOM, others. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

Can Crowdsourcing Help Find Malaysian Flight MH370?

Despite its shortcomings, crowdsourced mapping has been useful in disasters before. By Annalisa Merrelli

Science & Tech

Navy Submarine Drones Will Predict the Weather Months In Advance

More subdrones, fewer satellites -- the future of weather prediction is changing faster than the weather. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

Will Weaponized Drones Eventually Replace Soldiers?

Sometime in the near future, the autonomous, weaponized drone could replace the infantryman as the dominant battlefield technology. By Noah Smith

Science & Tech

When Does Cyber Spying Become a Cyber Attack?

Electronic espionage is different today than it was in the pre-Internet days of the Cold War. By Bruce Schneier

Science & Tech

The Internet Is the New Battleground, Assange Tells SXSW

Hackers, entrepreneurs and software developers gather in Austin to discuss how the NSA has helped and hurt the country. By Patrick Tucker

Science & Tech

What Will $5 Billion in Military Cyber Spending Pay For?

The Pentagon is spending more on cybersecurity, but is it spending it in the right way? By Patrick Tucker