The summary version of Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security distills the findings and recommendations of the complete report into a a booklet format. The full report is available here.
Author: Committee on Ethical and Societal Implications of Advances in Militarily Significant Technologies that are Rapidly Changing and Increasingly Globally Accessible
Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security is a study on the ethical, legal, and societal issues relating to the research on, development of, and use of rapidly changing technologies with low barriers of entry that have potential military application, such as information technologies, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology. The report also considers the ethical issues associated with robotics and autonomous systems, prosthetics and human enhancement, and cyber weapons. These technologies are characterized by readily available knowledge access, technological advancements that can take place in months instead of years, the blurring of lines between basic research and applied research, and a high uncertainty about how the future trajectories of these technologies will evolve and what applications will be possible. Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security addresses topics such as the ethics of using autonomous weapons that may be available in the future; the propriety of enhancing the physical or cognitive capabilities of soldiers with drugs or implants or prosthetics; and what limits, if any, should be placed on the nature and extent of economic damage that cyber weapons can cause. This report explores three areas with respect to emerging and rapidly available technologies: the conduct of research; research applications; and unanticipated, unforeseen, or inadvertent ethical, legal, and societal issues. The report articulates a framework for policy makers, institutions, and individual researchers to think about issues as they relate to these technologies of military relevance and makes recommendations for how each of these groups should approach these considerations in its research activities. Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security makes an essential contribution to incorporate the full consideration of ethical, legal, and societal issues in situations where rapid technological change may outpace our ability to foresee consequences.
"Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security addresses topics such as the ethics of using autonomous weapons that may be available in the future; the propriety of enhancing the physical or cognitive capabilities of soldiers with drugs or implants or prosthetics; and what limits, if any, should be placed on the nature and extent of economic damage that cyber weapons can cause. This report explores three areas with respect to emerging and rapidly available technologies: the conduct of research; research applications; and unanticipated, unforeseen, or inadvertent ethical, legal, and societal issues. The report articulates a framework for policy makers, institutions, and individual researchers to think about issues as they relate to these technologies of military relevance and makes recommendations for how each of these groups should approach these considerations in its research activities."--Publisher's description.
The authors present arguments about the role that technology and science will play within the international scene and globalization corridor as a way to develop a national security strategy for years to come. Part of the discussion observes the past, present, and future of technology innovation within global governments, including the sharing of data, artificial intelligence (AI), military policy, defense strategies, and more. For instance, globalization of science and technology, emerging and unpredictable threats (both manmade and natural), conventional and emerging weapons of mass destruction, and an inversion of technology flow from the private to public sectors all present challenges to our national security. Many countries are now dramatically increasing their investments in science, technology, and commercialization, particularly in Asia, and including many nontraditional players such as Vietnam and Singapore. From a grand strategic perspective, one might observe that in the decades to come, in a world dominated by pervasive advanced technologies, the countries that are most able to create, acquire, and utilize these disruptive technologies will lead the world. This technological capacity will be one of, if not the, most important global resources.Technological capacity will become the new oil. Other topical-related products can be found here: Armed Robotics Emergence: Weapons Systems Life Cycles Analysis and New Strategic Realities Enhancing Identity Development at Senior Services Colleges Military Communications: A Test for Technology Closer Than You Think: The Implications of the Third Offset Strategy for the U.S. Army
The United States is increasingly dependent on information and information technology for both civilian and military purposes, as are many other nations. Although there is a substantial literature on the potential impact of a cyberattack on the societal infrastructure of the United States, little has been written about the use of cyberattack as an instrument of U.S. policy. Cyberattacks-actions intended to damage adversary computer systems or networks-can be used for a variety of military purposes. But they also have application to certain missions of the intelligence community, such as covert action. They may be useful for certain domestic law enforcement purposes, and some analysts believe that they might be useful for certain private sector entities who are themselves under cyberattack. This report considers all of these applications from an integrated perspective that ties together technology, policy, legal, and ethical issues. Focusing on the use of cyberattack as an instrument of U.S. national policy, Technology, Policy, Law and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities explores important characteristics of cyberattack. It describes the current international and domestic legal structure as it might apply to cyberattack, and considers analogies to other domains of conflict to develop relevant insights. Of special interest to the military, intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security communities, this report is also an essential point of departure for nongovernmental researchers interested in this rarely discussed topic.
Application of Big Data for National Security provides users with state-of-the-art concepts, methods, and technologies for Big Data analytics in the fight against terrorism and crime, including a wide range of case studies and application scenarios. This book combines expertise from an international team of experts in law enforcement, national security, and law, as well as computer sciences, criminology, linguistics, and psychology, creating a unique cross-disciplinary collection of knowledge and insights into this increasingly global issue. The strategic frameworks and critical factors presented in Application of Big Data for National Security consider technical, legal, ethical, and societal impacts, but also practical considerations of Big Data system design and deployment, illustrating how data and security concerns intersect. In identifying current and future technical and operational challenges it supports law enforcement and government agencies in their operational, tactical and strategic decisions when employing Big Data for national security Contextualizes the Big Data concept and how it relates to national security and crime detection and prevention Presents strategic approaches for the design, adoption, and deployment of Big Data technologies in preventing terrorism and reducing crime Includes a series of case studies and scenarios to demonstrate the application of Big Data in a national security context Indicates future directions for Big Data as an enabler of advanced crime prevention and detection
The Intelligence Community Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on February 27, 2020 to explore insights from world-class experts and technologists familiar with the extensive range of issues associated with the counterproliferation mission, which is countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, related technologies, and expertise as a result of indigenous developments and/or transfers between entities. The workshop was designed to explore emerging technology intersections of interest and areas of convergence with relevance to the mission of the National Counterproliferation Center (NCPC) within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.