government – Impact Lab

China is using robotic bird drones with cameras to monitor its citizens

June 28, 2018

When you gaze into the sky, what do you see? If you happen to live in China, the answer might be surveillance drones disguised as birds, according to a new report from the South China Morning Post. The new report alleges that Chinese military and government agencies have been using undercover drones to spy on segments of the population, especially in an area of Western China that borders Russia, Mongolia, and Pakistan, among other countries.

Continue reading… “China is using robotic bird drones with cameras to monitor its citizens”

Computer Security, Crime, Hackers, Hacking

Revenge hacking is hitting the big time

September 23, 2017

The plan was to hack the hackers. Cybercriminals had targeted a global bank’s customers with phishing emails to break into their accounts. The legal option—waiting for law enforcement to investigate and perhaps apprehend the hackers—would have taken too long. So the bank was willing to try something else, and a team of security consultants offered to strike back.

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AI, Analysis, Big Data, government, Intelligence, Military, Science & Technology News

The Data-Driven Transformation of Intelligence

February 28, 2017

When “little green men” invaded Crimea in early 2014, they left a data trail that went largely unnoticed by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). Distracted by a large Russian exercise to the west, the IC did not connect the digital dots that indicated the impending invasion. In the Information Age, the “dots” are more plentiful and glaring as everyone now leaves a data trail. Given that, how can intelligence analysts better gather, share, organize, and view data to reveal intent, more accurately predict behavior, and make better decisions with limited resources?

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Analysis, Future, Globalism, government, Historical Perspectives, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Are we moving from nation states to stateless nations?

November 18, 2015

Philip Saunders: This is the age of disruption. What we’re witnessing is a shift from territorial monopolies on the use of force as a way of ordering civilization, toward a world of borderless civic networks. Or, in the words of Tom W. Bell, a move from nation states to stateless nations, which extend the dynamics of social networks into areas traditionally monopolized by government.

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Analysis, government, Internet, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

White House declares broadband internet a necessity: Report

September 28, 2015

Percentage of Households with Access to Download Speeds of 25 Megabits per Second or Greater, 2013.

The message of a new report that was commissioned by the White House says that Broadband internet access is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

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Drone, drones, government, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Weapons

North Dakota police can now weaponize their drones

September 9, 2015

A bill in North Dakota is aimed at making sure that police didn’t put weapons on drones has turned into a bill that accomplished exactly the opposite. North Dakota police can now put Tasers, pepper spray, and all types of non-lethal weapons on their drones.

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Agriculture, Business, Drone, drones, government, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

MIA federal rules stall Colorado’s ready-to-fly dronemakers

August 25, 2015

In Colorado, 15 of the first 500 FAA exemptions were granted to permit commercial drones to fly. But enabling those and other waiting businesses to spur an estimated $232 million in economic impact — and create more than 1,190 jobs — in Colorado by 2017 hinges on long-delayed rules based on a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court case filed by a poultry farmer.

Continue reading… “MIA federal rules stall Colorado’s ready-to-fly dronemakers”

government, Internet, Science & Technology News

Nine popular websites that are still blocked in China

August 3, 2015

There’s a good chance the Great Firewall of China will shut you down if you don’t comply with the Chinese government’s regulations in censoring politically sensitive information.

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Analysis, Current Events, government, Money Talk

Finland’s new government commits to Basic Income experiment

June 16, 2015

The new government in Finland has committed to a Basic Income experiment as part of its program for government which was published in May. The commitment consists of one line: ‘Implement a Basic Income experiment’, in the ‘Health and Welfare’ section of the program.

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Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Culture, Economy, government

What if we didn’t all have to work to get paid?

May 29, 2015

Scott Santens has been reflecting on the aphorism, “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he eats for life.” But what Santens really wants to know is, “If you build a robot to fish, do all men starve, or do all men eat?” Continue reading… “What if we didn’t all have to work to get paid?”

Business, Economy, Energy, government

Fossil fuels subsidies cost the world $10 million a minute

May 28, 2015

According to new estimates from the International Monetary Fund, which puts the cost of subsidizing fossil fuels at an enormous $5.3 trillion a year, or around $10 million a minute every day, global energy subsidies are quite a lot larger than most of us thought. Continue reading… “Fossil fuels subsidies cost the world $10 million a minute”

Analysis, Business, government, Internet, Science & Technology News

Google’s secret alliance with the NSA

December 2, 2014

Engineers at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, back in mid-December 2009, began to suspect that hackers in China had obtained access to private Gmail accounts. Those accounts included those used by Chinese human rights activists opposed to the government in Beijing.

Continue reading… “Google’s secret alliance with the NSA”