Lifeboat Foundation

WASHINGTON — The ground terminals used to operate U.S. military and intelligence satellites are running out of capacity and in dire need of upgrades, warns a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

GAO auditors spent more than a year investigating the state of the Satellite Control Network, operated by the U.S. Space Force. The network of 19 parabolic antennas, first established in 1959, is distributed across seven locations around the world.

The SCN is facing “obsolescence challenges and potential capacity gaps as DoD and other agencies launch more satellite systems that will rely on the network,” says GAO in the report released April 10.

Here’s why water bears could help us withstand nuclear warfare.

More than 60 scientists work to convert research into practical applications too.

The government of China has provided funding to set up a leading laboratory to study brain-machine interfaces, much like Elon Musk’s Neuralink has been working on. The recently inaugurated Sixth Haihe Laboratory in the northeast port city of Tianjin to “drive innovation and create new areas for economic growth”, the South China Morning Post.

Chinese lab to work on brain-machine interfaces

Continue reading “Chinese Neuralink? State-funded lab to work on brain-machine interaction in China” »

The permafrost of east Eurasian mountains is slowly melting away, helping to reveal the buried bodies of the much-feared Mongol Empire – as well as their unquenchable thirst for yak milk.

New research has studied the remains of a cemetery at the so-called Khorig site, located high in the Khovsgol mountains. Dating suggests that the cemetery was operating in the 13th century starting around the time of the Mongol Empire’s unification in 1,206 CE.

This was the year when the infamous Genghis Khan was proclaimed the ruler of all Mongols. With the help of a fearless horseback army, he launched a series of bloody military campaigns across Asia, laying the foundations for the largest contiguous land empire in history that spanned from the Pacific coast of Asia to Eastern Europe. The world was never the same again.

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. How it is being applied—and, perhaps more importantly, regulated—are now the crucial questions to ask. Walter Isaacson speaks with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt about A.I.’s impact on life, politics, and warfare, as well as what can be done to keep it under control.

Originally aired on March 23, 2023.

Continue reading “Fmr. Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the Consequences of an A.I. Revolution | Amanpour and Company” »

The growing presence of Russian submarines off the coast of the United States has sparked Cold War comparisons from military observers and a retired NATO admiral.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been set on expanding Russia’s underwater capabilities. Over the past several years, Moscow has been producing a series of submarines that have the capability to reach the most critical targets in the U.S. or continental Europe.

China kicked off three days of military drills and ‘combat readiness patrols’ around the island on Saturday, just days after the Taiwanese president met the U.S. House speaker.

After Watching “The Undeclared War” and reading about the documents leaked from the Pentagon this week I’m not surprised to hear about the creation of a Cyber Force military branch.

The U.S. is considering a 7th branch of its armed services to combat cyberthreats on Earth and in space.

Both advocates and critics of generative AI have compared it to the atom bomb. Here’s where that comparison breaks down.