Tech
The US Army Wants AI to Read Soldiers’ Minds
A new study from the Army Research Lab may help AI-infused weapons and tools better understand their human operators.
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Scientists Predict Weak Sun Activity During Next Solar Cycle
Low solar activity should mean relatively calm space weather for the next 11 years.
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NASA Makes First Award on GSA’s Massive $50 Billion Telecom Contract
With security authorizations trickling in, the space agency awarded a $10.5 million contract to support its core services.
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FDA Proposes Regulations for AI-Powered Medical Devices
Because AI retrains itself over time, the administration wants to keep tabs on what’s happening under the hood.
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DHS Cyber Chief is Ready to Update Federal Tech Hiring
The department is preparing to roll out a new personnel system that will let officials “hire people based on their skill sets, not what’s on a piece of paper,” said Chris Krebs.
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Senate Bill Promises Retaliation If Russia Again Meddles in Elections
The bill would force the U.S. to sanction Russian industries.
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114 Lawmakers Push to Fund Clean Energy Research
The group wants $500 million for the Energy Department’s advanced research projects agency, which would be eliminated under the White House’s 2020 budget request.
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VA Won’t Delay Launch of Private Care Software Tool Despite Reported Flaws
The tech will go live on June 6 even if it’s operating “at 70 percent or 50 percent,” said Secretary Robert Wilkie.
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USDA Launches New Features on Farmers.gov
The site’s latest functions will enable America’s agriculture producers to better manage loans and the H-2A visa process.
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After CIO No-Show, Congress Not Confident in VA’s IT Shop
The Veterans Affairs Department earned no goodwill when it declined to testify before a House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee.
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OPM Is Giving CIOs More Direct Hiring Authority But Plans To Keep A Watchful Eye
The administration has been gathering feedback on giving agency CIOs more power over direct hiring authorities and plans to publish the final rule soon.
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Interior Doubled Its Use of Drones in 2018
The agency flew more than 10,000 unmanned missions to survey federal land, monitor wildlife and respond to natural disasters.
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GSA’s Investment Team Is Building An Agile Development Contract
The $10 million, single-award contract would assist in developing novel ideas to improve the federal government.
Tech
The Newest AI-Enabled Weapon: ‘Deep-Faking’ Photos of the Earth
Step 1: Use AI to make undetectable changes to outdoor photos. Step 2: release them into the open-source world and enjoy the chaos.
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Identity Theft Services Inefficient at Addressing Data Breach Risks, Watchdog Says
The Government Accountability Office also recommended that Congress should reconsider allowing federal agencies how much coverage is appropriate to offer.
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FBI’s Long-Awaited $5 Billion IT Services Recompete Goes Back To Draft
The ITSSS recompete is getting a new name, new timeline and new draft solicitation, while the existing contract gets a one-year extension.
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DARPA Wants AI to Learn Language like Human Babies
The Pentagon’s research wing is funding efforts to build AI language systems that learn more like people and less like machines.
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Without JEDI, Pentagon’s Artificial Intelligence Efforts May Be Hindered
The Pentagon won’t be able to maximize artificial intelligence’s true capabilities without an enterprise cloud solution, something it’s currently trying to contract out.
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HUD Sues Facebook For Violating Fair Housing Rules With Targeted Ads
Facebook’s ad system allowed companies to target users based on a number of protected classes, including race, sex, nationality and general interests.
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