Defense
USAF wants its future robot wingmen to fly with sister services as well
And it wants them far more quickly than the typical acquisition program
Ideas
AI can help forecast air quality, but freak events like 2023’s summer of wildfire smoke require traditional methods too
COMMENTARY | When wildfire smoke turned New York City’s skies orange in early June 2023, emergency room visits for asthma doubled.
Acquisition
Space agencies are reforming acquisition to accelerate commercial tech integration
The nation’s space agencies are leveraging new procurement techniques to get their hands on critical emerging technologies and maintain U.S. competitiveness.
Emerging Tech
NASA’s new manned spacecraft estimated to ready by March, officials say
The agency is working with Boeing to remediate two issues with the Starliner spacecraft ahead of an anticipated crew flight test, but a specific launch date remains uncertain.
Digital Government
GAO: IRS must enhance cyber oversight of third-party vendors, modernize online services
The IRS continues to ignore GAO’s recommendation to streamline oversight of third-party tax vendors’ cyber practices, despite concerns about mitigating digital threats.
Cybersecurity
Updated NIST cyber framework focuses on on governance
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public feedback on its revamped Cybersecurity Framework, which includes guidance on operationalizing cyber best practices.
Cybersecurity
White House cyber office makes new workforce-focused hire
Daniel “Rags” Ragsdale is joining the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, following work in the private sector, Defense Department and cyber research space.
Defense
US can use tech as strategic tool to dissuade Chinese aggression, experts say
New and emerging technologies could bolster U.S. information-sharing capabilities as part of a strategic effort to combat Beijing’s aggressive posturing in the Indo-Pacific.
Modernization
The ‘future is at risk’ for government’s biggest civilian payroll provider, study finds
The National Finance Center — a part of the Agriculture Department — provides payroll services for over 170 agencies, but a lot of them aren’t happy with the services they’re getting.
Policy
White House calls on agencies to 'aggressively' reduce telework this fall
Chief of Staff Jeff Zients instructed agencies to focus on executing plans to increase in-person work in September and October.
Cybersecurity
White House launches new cybersecurity campaign to safeguard schools
The administration and its private sector partners announced a slate of new initiatives on Monday aimed at protecting the nation’s school systems and their digital infrastructure.
Emerging Tech
Lawrence Livermore researchers achieve fusion ignition for a second time
After a groundbreaking success in generating fusion ignition in December 2022, researchers repeated the victory in late July and will publish results soon.
Ideas
5 federal use cases for generative AI
COMMENTARY | Leaders who want to hit the ground running with the emerging tech should look to applications where generative AI has demonstrated success.
Cybersecurity
CISA unveils plan to measure cybersecurity success
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's 2024-2026 cybersecurity roadmap focuses on public-private partnerships and using metrics to gauge the effectiveness of cybersecurity measures.
Artificial Intelligence
NSF aims to drive democratization of AI with its funding
The National Science Foundation is working to expand artificial intelligence research and access to make the technology more equitable and to build a strong public research infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence
FCC wants to use AI to measure commercial spectrum use
The communications agency voted 4-0 on Thursday to ask the public for input on how it can use AI to bolster its spectrum management policies and understanding of bandwidth use.
Acquisition
DHS extends timeline on enterprise cloud strategy
The department’s much-anticipated ECLIPS contract won’t debut in fiscal 2023, as officials plan for another industry event this fall.
Digital Government
Government contractors grapple with enforcement challenges of TikTok ban
Industry groups are raising censorship and privacy concerns over a ban of popular social media app TikTok on devices used by government contractors.
Policy
Cannabis users could become feds under bipartisan House bill
The legislation also would allow federal job applicants who were previously denied positions or security clearances over marijuana usage dating back to 2008 to have those decisions reviewed under the newly proposed policy.
Cybersecurity