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Artificial Intelligence

DoD Outlines Tenets of Responsible Artificial Intelligence | Defense One

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks outlined core elements for responsible AI in a document signed last week, restated the department’s ethical AI principles approved last year, and directed the JAIC director to begin work on four tasks for establishing a sustainable AI ecosystem. Hicks tasked the JAIC director with coordinating responsible AI through a working committee accountable for hammering out a strategy and execution plan, developing a talent management structure, and reporting on how responsible AI may be integrated into transactions.

Source: https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/06/deputy-defense-secretary-outlines-responsible-ai-tenets-new-memo/174510/

Categories
Space Force

Biden seeks $2 billion funding boost for U.S. Space Force | Space News

President Biden’s proposed $715 billion defense budget for 2022 contains $17.4 billion for the United States Space Force, which is $2.2 billion more than the budget passed by Congress in 2021. The Pentagon provided information on the president’s funding proposal for the fiscal year that starts on October 1 on May 28. The White House is requesting $6 trillion in federal expenditure from Congress. The Space Force spends around 2.5 percent of the Defense Department’s total budget. The $2.2 billion hike proposed for 2022 is a huge boost for the tiniest military unit, which was founded only 18 months ago.

Source: https://spacenews.com/biden-seeks-2-billion-funding-boost-for-u-s-space-force/

Categories
Robots

Data center project to test crop-picking robots that could be used in space and on farms | NWI Times

Purdue University Northwest will be using a modern greenhouse at the Digital Crossroads Data Center in Hammond to test crop-picking robots. More than $1 million in federal and private funding has been secured by a group of Purdue University Northwest College of Technology researchers to try out the latest farming technology, which has the chance to facilitate farmworkers experiencing skills shortages, promote a new agtech economy, and save astronauts from doing physical work on a lunar or Martian colony. The project will get $276,000 from Digital Crossroads. It’s also constructing a 4,000-square-foot greenhouse that will be rented to Purdue Northwest and fueled by heat energy from the data center.

Source: https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/data-center-project-to-test-crop-picking-robots-that-could-be-used-in-space-and/article_7558b407-5bd9-557e-98f4-3ff5e7f3c136.html

Categories
Machine Learning

Password authentication is a mess. Here’s a system to replace it | Venture Beat

Cybercriminals are having a field day, and a significant cause is a weak security. The overwhelming amount of cyberattacks are the result of hackers gaining access to compromised credentials. Many strategies have been taken to improve password security, including more education and two-factor authentication (2FA). Despite this, data on password breaches remain alarmingly high. Perhaps 3D hand geometry, along with hand gesture detection and advanced data analysis based on machine learning, is a better approach.  Hands are significantly more difficult to imitate than fingerprints, and various studies claim that each 3D hand shape is distinct. Source: https://venturebeat.com/2021/05/31/password-authentication-is-a-mess-heres-a-system-to-replace-it/

Categories
Information Warfare

Swedish Health Agency shuts down SmiNet after hacking attempts | Bleeping Computer

After repeated data breach attempts, the Swedish Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) closed down SmiNet, the nation’s infectious illnesses database, on Thursday. SmiNet, which also stores digital files with information on COVID-19 cases, was taken offline on Thursday to examine the assaults and reopened on Friday evening. Due to a system outage, the Swedish Public Health Agency could not publish full COVID-19 statistics beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Furthermore, no further updates will be provided while the investigation into the infiltration attempts is continuing.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/swedish-health-agency-shuts-down-sminet-after-hacking-attempts/