Science & Tech

Do Killer Robots Violate Human Rights?

To confidently say whether a ban on tomorrow's 'killer robots' is defensible or not, we need to better clarify the notions of human control and autonomy.

Threats

New Pentagon Chief Carter to Court Silicon Valley

The Pentagon wants to partner more with Silicon Valley tech firms, but can radically different cultures find common ground?

Science & Tech

Pentagon Seeks Sensors That Last for Years

Reducing battery drain by a factor of 1,000 will enable true “persistent surveillance.”

Science & Tech

US Hospitals Could Save Billions If They Took This Lesson from the VA

Most hospitals don’t have good ways of measuring the complex costs associated with an individual patient’s stay in the hospital. The VA is one surprising exception.

Science & Tech

A Global Consensus on Cyber Security Is Gaining Momentum

Here’s what to look for in two meetings that will explore how states with limited capacity can draw upon technologically sophisticated countries.

Science & Tech

How the NSA Is Using the Cloud To Thwart the Next Snowden

In a post-Snowden world, is it really a good idea to have analysts swimming around in one vast ocean of NSA secrets and data?

Science & Tech

The Army Wants Robot Four-Wheelers and Decepticons

The service is outlining a multi-decade plan for autonomic and robotic systems.

Science & Tech

The Army Expands Its Use of Cloud Computing

IBM is beefing up its cloud computing services with the Army to expedite the service's nearly 40 million logistics data transactions per day.

Science & Tech

Snowden's Leaks Forced the DEA To End Its Own Mass Surveillance Program

By exposing the NSA’s spying programs, fugitive leaker Edward Snowden forced the Justice Department to shut down a separate phone-surveillance operation.

Science & Tech

6 Facts About the Future of the Air Force

Air Force officials wanted to reconstitute the force as the war in Afghanistan wound down. Here's why that will have to wait.

Science & Tech

The Islamic State's Cyber War Crimes

The Islamic State group's grisly videos are much more than a mere record of war crimes.

Science & Tech

It's Taking Nearly a Decade To Upgrade the Pentagon's Internet

Defense Department IT officials are still using a technology transition plan that doesn't even reflect the role of U.S. Cyber Command, which launched in 2009.

Science & Tech

The Army's Plan To Move to the Cloud

It won't happen overnight, but the service plans to take a solid step towards storing data externally.

Science & Tech

These Robotic Spiders Could Fix America's Satellite Infrastructure in Space

Instead of sending complete structures into space, the rockets of tomorrow could be filled with raw materials that dozens of multi-limbed robots could assemble in orbit.

Science & Tech

How Fish Could Give Us the Body Armor of the Future

A new study out of MIT may have found a protective, flexible solution for today’s soldiers in an unlikely place: the sea.

Ideas

Special Report: To Protect Ourselves From Bioweapons, We May Have to Reinvent Science Itself

Getting far better at predicting what research will produce may be the only way to save the world.

Science & Tech

Obama Expands the US Response to Cyber Attacks

A new executive order will allow the government to impose financial sanctions against foreigners waging malicious cyberattacks against the US.

Ideas

Air Force: We Must Invent the Future

To keep its technological edge, the vice chief says, the service must invest in femtosecond data transfer, Mach-8 aircraft, and more.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Rolls Out 'NSA-Proof' Smartphones

The Defense Department has introduced supersecret smartphones made by a company founded by a former Navy SEAL.

Science & Tech

Federal Agents Charged With Using Bitcoin To Launder Money

A former DEA official and a former Secret Service agent face charges over criminal activity that allegedly took place while the agents investigated the Silk Road website.