Ideas

Thousands of Ocean Fishing Boats Could Be Using Forced Labor—We Used AI and Satellite Data to Find Them

Forced labor is a known problem in open ocean fishing, but the scale has been very hard to track historically.

Emerging Tech

CBP Should Halt Expansion of the Biometric Entry-Exit Program, Many Commenters Write

Advocacy groups and the City of Portland wrote the Homeland Security Department urging a full stop on expanding the use of facial recognition technologies. 

Emerging Tech

Two Years into the Government’s National Quantum Initiative

An Office of Science and Technology Policy official offered a look back on what’s unfolded—and a glimpse into what’s to come.

Emerging Tech

VA Plans Poop Pilots to Detect COVID-19 Outbreaks at Nursing Homes

The Veterans Affairs Department will test wastewater for early indications of infection among residents, who can then be quarantined to limit the spread to others.

Emerging Tech

The Evolution of Public Health

Driven by a global pandemic, federal agencies stepped up with new strategies and embraced new technical capabilities to combat the coronavirus and meet their missions. 

Emerging Tech

DHS Works to Improve Biometric Scanning of Masked Faces

Almost 600 human volunteers participated in a recent technology evaluation.

Cybersecurity

CISA: SolarWinds Is Not the Only Way Hackers Got Into Networks

The agency also warned that getting attackers out of networks will be complex—especially because they are monitoring IT and cybersecurity employees’ emails.

Ideas

Artificial Intelligences Are Power Hungry, But Not How You Think

Keeping AIs on an ethical short leash is important but there are other aspects to consider.

Emerging Tech

Biometrics in Action

Federal agencies ramped up the use and scope of facial recognition tools in 2020, expanding programs to target more people and making significant technology upgrades.

Emerging Tech

Report: Augmented Reality Challenges Privacy Norms

Augmented reality technology’s presumed growth comes with some risks.

Podcasts

Critical Update: Did COVID-19 Push More Agencies Into the Cloud?

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting mass telework means agencies must have moved more data, workloads and services into the cloud. Right?

Artificial Intelligence

What Trump’s Order on Trustworthy AI Might Mean for Agencies

Experts say it’s a step in the right direction, but the coming months will determine its ultimate impacts. 

Modernization

$496M Contract Will Give DOD Engineering Capabilities, Official Says

A new Pentagon five-year contracting vehicle will support modernization and the development of the joint warfighting concept and promote technological innovation.

Emerging Tech

Pentagon Seeks Software to Analyze Data from Twitter

The Defense Department posted a solicitation for software capable of gleaning real-time intelligence from social media feeds.

Emerging Tech

Intel, Nvidia Face Questions from Lawmakers on Sale of Supercomputing Chips to China

The legislators’ probe follows reports that U.S.-built technology is underpinning the mass surveillance of Uighurs and others.

Ideas

Now Streaming: Government Data

When leveraged effectively, streaming data offers tremendous potential for real-time improvements.

Ideas

To Protect Research Subjects, Account for the Internet

When today’s scientists design experiments, they most often refer to ethical guidelines written decades ago.