BREAKING —> UNIDENTIFIED DRONES FLYING OVER MILITARY BASES.
The Wall Street Journal with the exclusive report: Late last year, unidentified drones started swarming restricted airspace over Langley Air Force Base and Naval Station Norfolk, sending U.S. military leaders into a frenzy. Top commanders watched as a fleet of drones, some as large as 20 feet, buzzed over one of the most critical national security hubs in the U.S.
—> WHO’S FLYING THE DRONES? Unclear. Theories range from amateur pranksters to covert ops by Russia or China.
—> MEET THE FUTURE OF WARFARE? With more drone sightings over places like the Nevada nuclear test site, lawmakers are scrambling to give the military more power to respond. Currently, they can’t even shoot them down unless there's an "imminent threat."
—> CIVILIAN RISK: The military can’t just push a button to jam the drones' signals or override their systems—they risk disrupting Wi-Fi, 9-1-1 calls, or even critical communication networks in the process.
hello, future. it’s me, kev.
…and this is a dispatch from the digital frontier. Your one-stop shop for markets, tech, and the future. The day is 288. The year is 2024. The planet is Earth. And yes, we’ve got more updates from AI to space travel! Keep reading. My name is Kevin Cirilli. Did you see the solar storms? Incredible.
Back to the future...
MUSK BUILDS ROBOT BABYSITTERS AND BOT BARTENDERS.
More via The New York Post:
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots stole the show at Elon Musk’s splashy Hollywood event on Thursday night as they danced onstage, served up watermelon-flavored cocktails and charmed guests with their fun and friendly chit-chat.
Following Musk’s introduction, the robots emerged from parted curtains and walked into the audience in a single-file line. The faceless, tall figures with joint-like bends around the knees, hips, shoulders and elbows – can “basically do anything you want,” Musk said.
A bartending bot – which wore a cowboy hat – spoke with a shockingly humanlike cadence.
Musk says it’ll be the “biggest product ever.”
MUSK UNDERWHELMS: Tesla shares dropped nearly 9% after Elon Musk's underwhelming "We, Robot" event, where he unveiled the Cybercab, a self-driving two-seater without steering wheels or pedals with a 2027 pricetag of $30K. Source: CNBC.
—> FLASHBACK: How the Segway didn't change the world. Source: Boing Boing.
I want to interview the bot.
TRANSFORM YOUR MORNINGS INTO A VIDEO GAME: Nintendo’s newest release? For $100, "Alarmo" turns your morning into a boss battle with classic sounds and the anxiety of beating the snooze. Can it level up your day? Time will tell.. Source: TechRadar.
Nintendo’s Alarmo. Source: Nintendo.
BRAIN DRAIN, BUT IT'S A GOOD THING? Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) found a brain-cleaning system in humans, called the glymphatic system, that flushes out brain waste. Previously only seen in mice, this discovery could revolutionize how we treat brain health and diseases like dementia.
— MEET THE FUTURE —> This could lead to breakthroughs in preventing memory loss, boosting brain health, and slowing the effects of aging. Imagine a future where keeping your brain sharp is as simple as regular maintenance—this discovery is the first step. Source: Associated Press.
BOT WITH JOBS TO SPARE: Someone used AI to apply for 2,843 jobs. There’s now a bot called the AI Hawk’s Auto Jobs Applier applies up to 17 jobs an hour. Some tech-savvy users have it working around the clock. Source: TechCrunch.
WEATHER APP NEEDS A REBOOT: A glitch in the BBC Weather app on Thursday threw users for a loop with bizarre forecasts, like 832-degree heat in Brazil and 13,000 mph winds in Chicago. The mix-up had everyone double-checking their weather and scratching their heads.
— MEET THE FUTURE: As we become more reliant on automated systems, glitches like these highlight the potential for misinformation. If an error like this triggers a chain reaction, it could impact decision-making in critical areas like travel, safety, and emergency response. Source: BBC.
begs the question… what happens when the glitch is about votes… not weather….
CHINA PROMISES STIMULUS, BUT WON'T SAY HOW BIG—LEAVING MARKETS IN LIMBO: China's latest fiscal stimulus announcement has one glaring omission: how big is it? Investors are left hanging as Beijing pledges to "significantly increase" debt to tackle its economic slowdown, but without naming a dollar figure, market volatility is bound to rise. The lack of clarity brings echoes of Xi's opaque playbook, reminiscent of the withholding of crucial data during the COVID crisis, and it leaves economists in the dark when trying to make forecasts.
DIG DEEPER —> This isn’t the first time China has kept the world guessing. During the pandemic, Xi’s government infamously withheld key data that could have helped control the global spread of COVID-19. Now, by refusing to disclose the size of its economic stimulus, China is once again keeping vital information from economists who need accurate forecasts to assess global market impacts.
CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE if Congress passed a fiscal package without mentioning how much they were actually spending? It’d wreak havoc on the markets. That’s exactly what’s happening here—global investors are being forced to wait and see, creating a ripple effect of uncertainty across the board.
BOTTOM LINE —> This kind of murky messaging doesn’t just hurt China’s markets; it has a trickle-down effect that impacts U.S. businesses and, eventually, American workers. When global investors can’t gauge the size of China’s stimulus, it fuels uncertainty that increases market volatility, which can shrink U.S. exports and hurt American manufacturers that depend on stability.
— Source(s): Reuters… Barron’s… Bloomberg… CNBC… South China Morning Post.
RUSSIA'S SICK TRICK: LURING AFRICAN WOMEN INTO WAR: Russia is targeting young African women with fake promises of travel and jobs, only to trap them in grim factories making attack drones for the war in Ukraine.
—> PUTIN’S PATHETIC FUTURE: Women from Uganda and Nigeria are lured into Russia’s Alabuga Zone under the guise of hospitality work, but instead find themselves building deadly drones under brutal conditions. Source: Associated Press.
SPACE WATCH
BY BRIG. GEN. (RET.) DAMON FELTMAN
ARTEMIS ACCORDS EXPANDING: This week, Dominican Republic became the 44th nation to sign the U.S.-based Artemis Accords. The Accords are a remarkable example of expanding governance for space exploration that has pulled together like-minded nations to establish norms of behavior and best practices for world’s expanding space activities.
—> DIG DEEPER: Established in October 2020, the Accords set guiding principles on 10 interest areas including Peaceful Purposes, Transparency, Registration of Space Objects, Space Resources, and Orbital Debris, among other items. The Accords do not abandon the UN-based treaties, and are grounded in these foundational agreements. Source: NASA
RUSSIAN COSMONAUT BREAKS SPACEFLIGHT RECORD: Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has become the person with the most number of days in space by any person, with 1,111 non-consecutive days spanning five total missions.
—> U.S. IS STILL LEADING on the number of people who have been to space, with approximately 370, which is 3x more than Russia’s second place. However, Russia dominates the long-duration/cumulative duration count. Russia averages 240 days in space per person, compared to the U.S.’s 73.
—> U.S. TAKES A MEASURED APPROACH due in part to the stress spaceflight does to the body and NASA's desire to capture more data on human effects. Source: LiveScience
LAUNCHPAD REVOLUTION AS SPACEPORTS GO GLOBAL: Next week’s International Astronautical Congress is expected to see the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between 8 spaceports from 5 countries that will seek to set cooperation leading to international standards for spaceports.
—> FUTURE-PROOFING SPACE TRAVEL: While other transport systems like international shipping and air rely heavily on common components and interfaces, space launch is not yet like this. Spaceports and launch pads remain remarkably bespoke, with pad design and interfaces often purpose-built for a particular booster and configured tightly to national and local regulations. Source: ViaSatellite
— Each week, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Feltman gives us a glimpse into our galaxy. Feltman was a career-long space operations officer, having commanded space units, led exercises and training at United States Space Command, and set budget and requirements priorities at Headquarters Space Force. Follow him on LinkedIn here.
O'BRIEN'S RADAR: AI TAKES ON HURRICANES
BY LT. GEN. (RET.) MARY O’BRIEN
HURRICANE CHAOS FAKE FLOODS GO VIRAL: As Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction through the Southeast, misleading images flooded social media, making it harder for emergency managers to separate fact from fiction.
—> FAKE PHOTOS… REAL CHAOS: Fake photos of flooding in Asheville, North Carolina, quickly went viral, creating a mess for responders trying to get accurate information about the real flooding to assist those in danger. Source: Yale Climate Connections.
—> FOG OF DISASTER IS GETTING WORSE: The rise of AI-generated misinformation can sow confusion among those already in crisis. Source: The Atlantic.
MAVEN SMART SYSTEM SPEEDS UP STORM RECOVERY: On the positive side, the U.S. military deployed its Maven Smart System to aid in Hurricane Helene's relief efforts. This AI-driven platform, typically used in combat, aggregates real-time data from various sources to map impacted areas and streamline aid distribution.
—> BY INTEGRATING MULTIPLE DATA STREAMS, the Maven system is helping responders quickly identify areas that need immediate assistance, reducing the time it takes to deliver crucial supplies necessary to get critical power, water, and transportation infrastructure up and running. Source: Defense Scoop.
— Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mary O'Brien, the former Joint Staff CIO, is a leading expert in cyber and artificial intelligence with extensive experience in shaping cyber strategies at the highest levels, connect with her on LinkedIn. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
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