Emerging Tech

ICE and the Ever-Widening Surveillance Dragnet

ICE agents have used facial-recognition technology on state driver’s-license photos, turning a public database into a de facto criminal database.

Modernization

How an Agriculture App that Spills the Dirt on Soil Got a Second Life

The department’s barebones SoilWeb app grew a following until app stores changed their rules in 2017. Now it’s back.

Emerging Tech

The Intelligence Community Wants to Hear Your Cutting-Edge Tech Pitch

ODNI is expanding one of its major vendor outreach programs to speed up adoption of emerging tech and modernize the intelligence community’s IT infrastructure.

Artificial Intelligence

How AI Will Transform Anti-Submarine Warfare

New Navy projects seek to capture more data about the oceans’ depths—then train computers to out-think human captains.

Modernization

Pennsylvania Becomes First State to Use Automated System to Expunge Criminal Records

After passing the country’s first ‘clean slate’ bill, Pennsylvania is debuting a system that will automatically clear the records of all who are eligible.

Policy

Supreme Court Rejects ‘Contrived’ Defense of Citizenship Question on 2020 Census

The high court’s ruling called into question the Trump administration's justification for including the citizenship question but does not preclude the administration from asking residents whether or not they are citizens.

Ideas

What Is a ‘Smart City’ Supposed To Look Like?

The vision of the technology-powered metropolis of the future is being sold with images that bear little resemblance to the real world.

Artificial Intelligence

Spy Agencies Turn to AI to Stay Ahead of Adversaries

In a world where everyone can collect data on everything, speedy analysis could make or break U.S. national security, a top intelligence official says.

Modernization

OMB Updates Data Center Optimization Initiative

The new policy bans agencies from budgeting resources toward new or expanded agency-owned data centers without permission from the Office of Management and Budget.

Policy

Supreme Court to Hear Challenge on State Code Copyrights

Georgia holds a copyright for its annotated state code, which sells for $404, and sued to block a website from distributing free copies of the document.

Policy

White House Wants to Know How Tech Can Help Prevent Veteran Suicides

The Office of Science and Technology Policy is asking for the public to weigh in on its veteran suicide prevention strategy.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is Too Dumb to Fully Police Online Extremism, Experts Say

Algorithms excel at routine tasks, but understanding a post’s context requires a human touch, former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos told lawmakers.

Digital Government

Federal Employees Suing OPM Score Win in Lawsuit Over Data Hacks

Appeals court overrules district-level finding, says federal employee unions have standing to sue.

Emerging Tech

Survey: Many Americans Support Facial Recognition in Airports

Though some think it’s invasive, a new survey suggests attitudes about the emerging tech might be improving.

Modernization

DHS to Move Biometric Data on Hundreds of Millions of People to Amazon Cloud

The department seeks a new platform to identify people using fingerprints, irises and faces, and eventually DNA, palm prints, scars and tattoos.

Ideas

How Federal Agencies Can Move Innovation Forward

There’s hard work ahead to truly capture the full potential of artificial intelligence.