Baltimore becomes the first US city to be watched from the air 24/7
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As airborne platforms, from aircraft to drones, and as machine vision and optic technologies improve, our ability to monitor cities and people from the air in real time will improve dramatically. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. A...
Google creates a neural network that picks out individual voices in video
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Not only does this technology have benefits for video search, but it also has surveillance and privacy implications. Recently I talked about a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancement from Hitachi that let’s its AI’s pick out and follow individuals in a crowd – something that...
US proposes to regulate AI the same way it regulates weapons exports
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI can be both very beneficial, but also in the wrong hand very dangerous, and the US is thinking about regulating it in the same way they regulate military hardware. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has the capability to be one of, if not the,...
US military genetics program to turn marine life into giant living sensor networks
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we learn more about the genetic code and how to modify it organisations around the world are starting to look into new ways of turning nature to their advantage. A few months ago I wrote about how DARPA, the bleeding edge research arm...
Worldwide surveillance, Hawkeye satellites use radio to track illegal shipping
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Over $3Trillion worth of goods are transported illegally, and this new technology gives law enforcement a major new weapon in the race to find them. A little while ago I talked about a company called Planet, that can watch the world, and everything on...
China’s surveillance network found a BBC reporter in under 7 minutes
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As nation states roll out increasingly advanced and sophisticated surveillance networks, how we use them and the agenda of those who control them become increasingly important to understand. It took Chinese authorities just seven minutes to locate and apprehend BBC reporter John Sudworth using its...
DARPA wants to genetically engineer smart plants to act as surveillance devices
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Noone would suspect a plant of watching or surveilling them, but thanks to DARPA that’s all about to change. This week Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, the bleeding US research arm of the US Department of Defense, announced it’s working on a new...
US Intelligence director: “AI will replace 75 percent of spies”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF One day the world’s best spy could very well be an AI, and that’s bad news for Starbuck’s whose biggest coffee shop is on the NSA campus… The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and an increasingly connected society has already, according to the UK’s...
Elbit’s persistent surveillance drone can watch entire cities in real time
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In an age where threats can lurk anywhere authorities are calling out for new surveillance systems that can watch entire areas, or cities, in real time, and industry is answering them. Yesterday at the Paris Airshow Elbit Systems, an Israeli defence company, demonstrated their new,...
Massive new satellite network can watch everyone on Earth
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A new, bolstered, space satellite system to keep watch over the world, it’s the equivalent of Tivo for Google Earth. Planet, a global satellite company, who recently bought mini-sat company Terra Bella from Google, is used to breaking records. In 2014, a rocket exploded...
DARPA’s TERN drone gives US Marines a new wingman
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Most of today’s drones are limited by the distances they can fly and the payloads they can carry, now the US wants an eye in the sky that can help protect, and resupply troops wherever they are Terns are a family of shorebirds that...
New airborne city wide surveillance systems watch your every move
Google Earth with TiVo capability was the pitch and security forces around the world are starting to snap the technology up
One camera to watch an entire city, meet WAMI
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It’s like combining Google Maps with Tivo, authorities can watch an entire city with just a one camera. An unblinking sentinel will watch over the Olympic Games from high above Rio de Janiero this summer. No, not the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, but...
