U.S. and E.U. Complete Long-Awaited Deal on Sharing Data

Good Direction.? 

U.S. and E.U. Complete Long-Awaited Deal on Sharing Data

By The New York Times, July 11, 2023

Credit: Ksenia Kuleshova/The New York Times

A deal to ensure that data from Meta, Google and scores of other companies can continue flowing between the United States and the European Union was completed on Monday, after the digital transfer of personal information between the two jurisdictions had been thrown into doubt because of privacy concerns.

The decision adopted by the European Commission is the final step in a yearslong process and resolves — at least for now — a dispute about American intelligence agencies' ability to gain access to data about European Union residents. The debate pitted U.S. national security concerns against European privacy rights.

The accord, known as the E.U.-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, gives Europeans the ability to object when they believe their personal information has been collected improperly by American intelligence agencies. An independent review body made up of American judges, called the Data Protection Review Court, will be created to hear such appeals.

Didier Reynders, the European commissioner who helped negotiate the agreement with the U.S. attorney general, Merrick B. Garland, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, called it a "robust solution." The deal sets out more clearly when intelligence agencies are able to retrieve personal information about people in the European Union and outlines how Europeans can appeal such collection, he said.

From The New York Times

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U.S. Military Takes Generative AI Out for a Spin

Based on previous experience,  can see this as useful.   With cautions. 

ACM TECHNEWS

U.S. Military Takes Generative AI Out for a Spin

By Bloomberg, July 10, 2023

A service member with the 175th Cyber Operations monitors cyberattacks during Exercise Southern Strike at Camp Shelby, MS.

Dozens of companies, including Palantir Technologies Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc., are developing AI-based decision platforms for the Pentagon.

Credit: Staff Sgt. Renee Seruntine/U.S. Army National Guard

The U.S. Department of Defense is testing five large language models (LLMs) as part of an effort to develop data integration and digital platforms for military use.

U.S. Air Force Col. Matthew Strohmeyer said one experiment using a LLM to perform a military task was "highly successful" and "very fast."

However, Strohmeyer said, "That doesn't mean it's ready for primetime right now."

The exercises involve feeding classified operational information into the LLMs, with the ultimate goal of using AI-enabled data in decision-making, sensors, and firepower.

Specifically, the LLMs are being tasked with helping plan a military response to an escalating global crisis, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region.

From Bloomberg

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Can China overtake the US in the AI Marathon?

ChatGPT: Can China overtake the US in the AI marathon?

By Derek Cai & Annabelle Liang in  BBC News

Artificial intelligence has emerged as enough of a concern that it made it onto what was already a packed agenda at the G7 summit at the weekend.

Concerns about AI's harmful impact coincide with the US' attempts to restrict China's access to crucial technology.

For now, the US seems to be ahead in the AI race. And there is already the possibility that current restrictions on semiconductor exports to China could hamper Beijing's technological progress.

But China could catch up, according to analysts, as AI solutions take years to be perfected. Chinese internet companies "are arguably more advanced than US internet companies, depending on how you're measuring advancement," Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Trivium China tells the BBC.

However, she says China's "ability to manufacture high-end equipment and components is an estimated 10 to 15 years behind global leaders."

The Silicon Valley factor

The US' biggest advantage is Silicon Valley, arguably the world's supreme entrepreneurial hotspot. It is the birthplace of technology giants such as Google, Apple and Intel that have helped shape modern life.

Innovators in the country have been helped by its unique research culture, says Pascale Fung, director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Researchers often spend years working to improve a technology without a product in mind, Ms Fung says.

OpenAI, for example, operated as a non-profit company for years as it researched the Transformers machine learning model, which eventually powered ChatGPT.

"This environment never existed in most Chinese companies. They would build deep learning systems or large language models only after they saw the popularity," she adds. "This is a fundamental challenge to Chinese AI."

US investors have also been supportive of the country's research push. In 2019, Microsoft said it would put $1bn (£810,000) in to OpenAI.

"AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time and has the potential to help solve many of our world's most pressing challenges," Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said.

China's edge

China, meanwhile, benefits from a larger consumer base. It is the world's second-most populous country, home to roughly 1.4 billion people.

It also has a thriving internet sector, says Edith Yeung, a partner at the Race Capital investment firm.  ... '  (more)

How the U.S. Can Rewire the Pentagon for a New Era

I worked at the Pentagon, so interesting.   During an earlier 'rewiring'.   Crucial. 

How the U.S. Can Rewire the Pentagon for a New Era, by Porter Smith and David Ulevitch

We are in the early stages of a generational defense cycle that requires unconventional thinking and tools. The invasion of Ukraine highlights this evolution: comparatively low-cost weapons, from drones to precision artillery, are leveraging cutting-edge networks, like SpaceX’s Starlink, to redefine battlefields. Meanwhile, a new variable — attritable tech — is emerging. The implications are upending how militaries fight.

Defense innovation has always sparked a helix of action and reaction, where faster evolution means greater success. In World War II, Turing’s codebreakers at Bletchley Park reacted to Nazi cryptographic improvements in a running duel that spanned years. The naval Enigma wasn’t broken once, but dozens of times. 

We are in a similar moment today, although the rate and scale of change is accelerated. Consider the lightning speed at which today’s most advanced general computing projects evolve. OpenAI’s GPT-4, which was released a little more than two years after its predecessor, can now ace bar exams and convert sketches to functioning websites — all in a compressed upgrade window that overtook competitors seemingly overnight. As general computing platforms become applicable to a host of defense applications, from programming autonomous behavior to conducting live targeting analysis, sweeping advances in software and other technologies not originally designed for defense have unintentionally compounded computing’s impact on war.

Responding to the paradigm shift requires reengineering the Pentagon’s DNA for a new era. Given that the winner of the next big war will more closely resemble a distributed computer operating at scale — programmatically collecting, sharing, and acting upon data from relatively inexpensive and configurable endpoints, like drones — computing design and organizational principles honed in the tech industry can help provide guidance to meet the challenge. 

Here are some ideas for how to do it.

1. Commoditizing hardware

As the Central Intelligence Agency’s Chief Technology Officer Nand Mulchandani pointed out in his essay “Software-Defined Warfare,” cloud computing (and modern application design, overall) ushered in an era where hardware components like servers, storage devices, and networking equipment have become interchangeable and standardized. The transition to treating servers as “cattle” instead of “pets” presaged a reduction in operational complexity, driving lower costs through commoditization. Businesses utilizing cloud resources don’t need to endure long hardware provisioning cycles just to test out new applications or features, or over-purchase hardware for peak workloads that might come just once a year. Businesses adopting cloud native design principles care relatively little about hardware at all — their workloads are packaged as application containers that can run on any virtual machine running Linux.

Modern militaries face a similar competitive landscape, but the consequences are defeat instead of bankruptcy.

For a glimpse of what’s to come, look no further than the Donbas. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) premonition of “Mosaic Warfare” — saturating an adversary with cheap complexity — has come to life. Modded quadcopters are pairing with artillery to serve as ubiquitous reconnaissance and attack assets at the lowest tactical levels. Sometimes, even drones themselves are the munition, as seen in individual tank strikes and the mass naval attack that heavily damaged the Admiral Makarov, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Drones, air defense systems, and missiles are democratizing lethality in much the same way offshoring, competition, and government subsidies relentlessly commoditized computing hardware and chips. This rapid shift in defense tech has economic implications; cheaper hardware can be deployed en masse.

Why, then, have hardware costs risen so dramatically at the Pentagon? The Air Force’s next-generation bomber, the B-21 Raider, is estimated to cost $700 million per aircraft — a 140x increase in today’s dollars over B-24 Liberators from World War II. Part of the problem is that the Department of Defense (DoD) doesn’t view most platforms as uniform endpoints in a larger network. For a substantial portion of the force, they should.

The future is modular  ... ' 

Walmart to Add EV Chargers

Spreading availability.

Walmart to add EV chargers to thousands of US stores

Walmart plans to add electric vehicle chargers to thousands of stores across the United States by 2030.

Walmart announced Thursday plans to add electric vehicle (EV) chargers to thousands of US stores in a sign of further mainstreaming of emission-free autos.

The US retail giant, which has EV chargers at a fraction of its US stores, plans to "build our own EV fast-charging network at thousands of Walmart and Sam's Club locations coast-to-coast," said a Walmart news release, noting that approximately 90 percent of the US population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart.

The announcement is the latest sign of movement in the US transportation market in what is expected to be a years-long transition away from the internal combustion engine car.

Electric vehicles accounted for 5.8 percent of the US market for new vehicles in 2021, up from 3.2 percent in 2021, according to Cox Automotive.   .... ' 

US-China Chip War Continues

 A Space I am watching, regards the players and supply chain.  Point me to other relevant information.

US-China chip war: How the technology dispute is playing out    By Suranjana Tewari and Jonathan Josephs  BBC News  (excerpt) 

The US is rapidly ramping up efforts to try to hobble China's progress in the semiconductor industry - vital for everything from smartphones to weapons of war.

In October, Washington announced some of the broadest export controls yet - requiring licences for companies exporting chips to China using US tools or software, no matter where they're made in the world.  Washington's measures also prevent US citizens and green card holders from working for certain Chinese chip companies. Green card holders are US permanent residents who have the right to work in the country.

It is cutting off a key pipeline of American talent to China which will affect the development of high-end semiconductors.

Why is the US doing this?

Advanced chips are used to power supercomputers, artificial intelligence and military hardware.  The US says China's use of the technology poses a threat to its own national security.

Alan Estevez, undersecretary at the US Commerce Department announced the rules, saying his intention was to ensure the US was doing everything it could to prevent "sensitive technologies with military applications" from being acquired by China.  "The threat environment is always changing and we are updating our policies today to make sure we're addressing the challenges," he said.

Meanwhile, China has called the controls "technology terrorism".

Countries in Asia that produce chips - such as Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea - have raised concerns about how this bitter battle is affecting the global supply chain.

And there were three significant developments in the chip conflict over the past week.

More Chinese firms on 'entity list'

The Biden administration has added 36 more Chinese companies, including major chipmaker YMTC to Washington's "entity list".

It means American companies will need government permission to sell certain technologies to them, and that permission is difficult to secure.   The US restrictions have broad implications. Last week, UK-based computer chip designer Arm confirmed that it was not selling its most advanced designs to Chinese firms including tech giant Alibaba because of US and UK controls.

Arm said it was "committed to adhering to all applicable export laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which it operates."  .... ' 

Apple Will Use US Chips

 Arizona made chips to be used ... 

Tim Cook Confirms Apple Will Use US-Made Chips From New Arizona Fab

By Adrianna Nine on December 7, 2022    in ExtremeTech

As if TSMC’s massive new Arizona fab wasn’t (literally) groundbreaking enough, Apple CEO Tim Cook has added to the excitement. At a factory event on Tuesday, Cook announced that Apple would begin using chips made in the desert state.

Cook joined President Joe Biden onsite this week to celebrate its forthcoming contribution to US chip manufacturing. In an announcement first reported by CNBC, Cook shared that Apple would be shifting away from imported chips in favor of Arizona-made chips once the factory was in production. “Now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly stamped ‘Made in America,’” Cook said. “This is an incredibly significant moment.”

Apple’s relationship with the new factory isn’t much of a surprise given recent rumors. Apple has sourced all of its chips from TSMC for a while now, meaning the semiconductor manufacturer’s decision to build another Arizona location quickly gave way to a benevolent opportunity for Apple. The fab, which will start with its 4nm chips and eventually rope in 3nm, gives Apple a chance to prove it’s invested in sourcing domestic parts and creating jobs here in the States.  ... ' 

Connecting the Joint Force as One

Northrup Grumman:   Connecting the Joint Force as One

Future mission success will lay in highly-effective Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)

‘Joining Forces’ has always been a critical factor in creating extra strength

In the future, more than ever before, mission advantage will go to military forces who can coordinate and act together across all domains. Observing, orienting, deciding and acting together, faster and with greater effect than their adversaries is the next-gen technological edge for Joint Forces. And, whether Joint Forces are across United States military branches including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, U.S. Space Force, or in partnership with allies―future mission success will lay in highly-effective Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

Ars Technicast Special Edition: The Internet of Military Things

For decades, the US Department of Defense has been trying to make the tools we use to fight battles more like the tools we use in peacetime with more connectivity, more data, and more smarts. The difference this time around, is that technology has caught up to the point where what we can do in real life almost mirrors what we can do in movies. To learn more, listen to Scott Stapp, Chief Technology Officer, Northrop Grumman on Ars Technica’s podcast.

(Podcast) 

Data Sharing with UK

Not sure to what extent and detail it did exist before.

A data-sharing agreement between the US and UK is now in effect   in Engaget

The countries say the pact will help combat serious crimes, but privacy advocates have raised concerns.

By Kris Holt

As of today, a data-sharing pact between the US and the UK is in effect, five years after it was first floated. The two sides claim that the Data Access Agreement, which was authorized by the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act in the US, will help law enforcement to combat serious crimes in both countries. The Department of Justice called the initiative the first of its kind, adding that it would enable investigators "to gain better access to vital data" to fight serious crimes in a manner that's "consistent with privacy and civil liberties standards."

Under the agreement, authorities in one country can request data from ISPs in the other country, as long as it's related to preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting serious crimes including terrorism, transnational organized crime and child exploitation. US officials can't submit data requests targeting people in the UK and vice-versa — presumably the requests can either be used to assist domestic investigations or investigations into foreign nationals. Authorities also need to adhere to certain requirements, limitations and conditions when they access and use data.

The UK Home Office's Investigatory Powers Unit will oversee the Data Access Agreement in the UK, while the DOJ's Office of International Affairs (OIA) will handle matters in the US. The OIA has put together a CLOUD team that will review and certify orders on behalf of federal, state, local and territorial authorities. It will directly submit orders to ISPs in the UK and ensure data is transferred to authorities who requested it.

Privacy advocates have blasted the initiative and the CLOUD Act. In 2018, just after the bill was introduced, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said it "creates a dangerous precedent for other countries who may want to access information stored outside their own borders, including data stored in the United States." Fight for the Future argued that it would threaten user privacy. ... '

Crypto Declared a Risk

Crypto is Possible Systemic Risk

ACM NEWS

FSOC Warns Crypto is Possible Systemic Risk

By Politico, October 4, 2022

Said U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, “We've seen very significant shocks and volatility within the crypto asset system, particularly over the last year.”

Top U.S. banking and markets regulators on Monday warned that the crypto industry could pose a major risk to the financial system if lawmakers and agencies don't act soon to set ground rules.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council — a Treasury-led panel of top officials from the Federal Reserve, SEC and other agencies — released a 120-page report that identified a wide range of regulatory gaps and market risks affecting everything from Bitcoin trading platforms and stablecoins to consumer protection and cyberattacks.

Those risks will get more severe as the industry expands and digital asset businesses forge ties with traditional financial institutions like banks and payment systems, according to the report, which was produced in accordance with President Joe Biden's March executive order on crypto.

From Politico

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Of Course the Military is on it

 Also worked with an an example in this space:

The U.S. Military Is Building Its Own Metaverse,  By Wired, July 6, 2022

On May 10, two fighter pilots performed a high-altitude proto-metaverse experiment. A few thousand feet above the desert of California, in a pair of Berkut 540 jets, they donned custom AR headsets to connect to a system that overlaid a ghostly, glowing image of a refueling aircraft flying alongside them in the sky. One of the pilots then performed a refueling maneuver with the virtual tanker while the other looked on. Welcome to the fledgling military metaverse.

It isn't only Silicon Valley that's gripped by metaverse mania these days. Just as tech companies and corporations are scrambling to develop strategies for virtual worlds, many defense startups, contractors, and funders are increasingly talking up the metaverse, even if its definition and utility aren't always clear.

The key technologies needed for the metaverse—augmented and virtual reality, headmounted displays, 3D simulations and virtual environments built by artificial intelligence—are already found in the defense world. The result is a lot less polished, cutesy, and spacious than Mark Zuckerberg's virtual world vision, but that's partly the point. And there's a good chance that the underlying tech could take off, even if it stutters in the civilian realm.

From Wired

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UK Says No to AI Patents

Contrary to the US it currently seems.  Worked in the IP/Patent space for some time. 

UK decides AI still cannot patent inventions  By Chris Vallance in the BBC, Technology reporter

The UK's Intellectual Property Office has decided artificial-intelligence systems cannot patent inventions for the time being.

Patents assign the ownership of a new invention to its creator. A recent IPO consultation found many experts doubted AI was currently able to invent without human assistance.   Current law allowed humans to patent inventions made with AI assistance, the government said, despite "misperceptions" this was not the case.

Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled against Stephen Thaler, who had said his Dabus AI system should be recognised as the inventor in two patent applications, for:   a food container,    a flashing light

The judges sided, by a two-to-one majority, with the IPO, which had told him to list a real person as the inventor.

"Only a person can have rights - a machine cannot," wrote Lady Justice Laing in her judgement.

"A patent is a statutory right and it can only be granted to a person."

But the IPO also said it would "need to understand how our IP system should protect AI-devised inventions in the future" and committed to advancing international discussions, with a view to keeping the UK competitive.  ... ' 

An AI Can Invent in the US?

 Related to some of the work I did with the DOD on intellectual property definition and rights. How will this influence  use?   How will the invention be assigned?   Will follow up on the ruling.

U.S. court will soon rule if AI can legally be an ‘inventor’

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be legally listed as an inventor? After all, if AI can legally invent products, the number of patents on drug-discovery tools will shoot up fast. The issue is currently before a United States court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments on that question again last week, and the ruling could affect the pace of AI technology development, particularly within the pharmaceutical and life science industrie

AI learns by doing

A ruling in favor of AI-as-inventor would impact healthcare companies that use the technology to create tools that find new treatments for existing drugs. This technique of re-using drugs, called repurposing or repositioning, is used to treat emerging and challenging diseases, including COVID-19.  ... ' 

How Ukraine has defended itself against cyberattacks

 Something to learn here. 

How Ukraine has defended itself against cyberattacks—lessons for the US

by Robert Peacock, The Conversation

In 2014, as Russia launched a proxy war in Eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea, and in the years that followed, Russian hackers hammered Ukraine. The cyberattacks went so far as to knock out the power grid in parts of the country in 2015. Russian hackers stepped up their efforts against Ukraine in the run-up to the 2022 invasion, but with notably different results. Those differences hold lessons for U.S. national cyber defense.

I'm a cybersecurity researcher with a background as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and working as an analyst in countries of the former Soviet Union. Over the last year, I led a USAID-funded program in which Florida International University and Purdue University instructors trained more than 125 Ukrainian university cybersecurity faculty and more than 700 cybersecurity students. Many of the faculty are leading advisors to the government or consult with critical infrastructure organizations on cybersecurity. The program emphasized practical skills in using leading cybersecurity tools to defend simulated enterprise networks against real malware and other cybersecurity threats.

The invasion took place just weeks before the national cybersecurity competition was to be held for students from the program's 14 participating universities. I believe that the training that the faculty and students received in protecting critical infrastructure helped reduce the impact of Russian cyberattacks. The most obvious sign of this resilience is the success Ukraine has had in keeping its internet on despite Russian bombs, sabotage and cyberattacks.

What this means for the U.S.

On March 21, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden warned the American public that Russia's capability to launch cyberattacks is "fairly consequential and it's coming." As Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger explained, Biden's warning was a call to prepare U.S. cyber defenses.

The concern in the White House over cyberattacks is shared by cybersecurity practitioners. The Ukrainian experience with Russian cyberattacks provides lessons for how institutions ranging from electric power plants to public schools can contribute to strengthening a nation's cyber defenses. .... ' 

US Fed Gov AI Spending Increasing

It appears in most the usual spaces.

Federal Government Spending on AI is Accelerating 

By AI Trends Staff  

AI is a major priority for US federal agencies and its adoption is accelerating, in part due to urgency following the COVID pandemic but also rooted in the long-term IT and R&D strategic plans.   

This is a key finding of the Federal Artificial Intelligence Landscape, 2022 report from the Federal Market Analysis team of Deltek, a global provider of enterprise software with a project focus. The report examines the major considerations around budget, policy, acquisition and workforce issues that influence federal AI priorities.   

Christine Fritsch, principal research analyst, federal market analysis, Deltek

“That research has found that as government mission requirements grow, federal agencies are seeking ways to maximize the use of the vast data sets they collect and store,” stated Christine Fritsch, principal research analyst, federal market analysis at Deltek, author of the account on Deltek’s report in Federal Times.  

The report describes how AI and machine learning technologies are enabling agencies to improve the effectiveness of missions, stretch workforce capacity, combat waste, fraud, and abuse, and drive operating efficiencies. The maturation of AI technology, a growing list of AI use cases and applications, and the growth in commercial solutions, have all contributed to pushing AI beyond the R&D work at scientific agencies such as NASA and the Department of Energy to a broader pool of agencies, the report found.   ... ' 

China and US AI Startups

AI Startups are Roaring,  led by China and US

VCs invested over $75B in AI startups in 2020 in Venturebeat

Investments in AI are growing at an accelerated pace, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Paris, France-based group found that the U.S. and China lead the growing wave of funding, taking in a combined 81% of the total amount invested in AI startups last year, while the European Union and U.K. boosted their backing but lag substantially behind.... '