Governance, Legislation, and Geostrategies

Government automated-decision-making: transparency and responsibility in the public sector

(Antoine Glory – OECD AI – 7 April 2025) As taxpayers and citizens- often both- many of us are increasingly concerned about the automated decision-making systems and algorithms deployed by cities, provinces, states, countries, etc. But do we understand how and when governments at all levels build these algorithms and how they are used? Whether for social benefits, university admissions, facial recognition, or health data, transparency is crucial for public trust and government accountability. While “algorithmic transparency” may sound straightforward, it is still vague because the term lacks a universally accepted definition. Are we referring to a principle about availability, a standard degree of accessibility, an obligation to disclose information, or even a right to access? – https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/government-automated-decision-making-transparency-and-responsibility-in-the-public-sector

The Dangers of AI Sovereignty

(Kevin Frazier – Lawfare – 7 April 2025) A throughline connects recent statements on artificial intelligence  policy by the Trump administration, AI labs, and others with a vested interest in the nation’s AI policy—it’s a call for AI sovereignty. In particular, it’s a call for strong AI sovereignty or complete domestic control over essential AI inputs. Policy discussions in other countries, such as India, China, Japan, and Canada, have similarly accelerated in this direction. Emerging technical and resource considerations likewise may encourage more nations to home grow their AI. This is a troubling trend. Widespread pursuit of strong AI sovereignty is the worst of both worlds: at once increasing the odds of an all-out AI arms race in which nations focus their development strategies on national security interests while also crowding out the development of AI tools intended to serve the broader public interest. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-dangers-of-ai-sovereignty

Understanding Cyber Market Failures

(Jason Healey, Carina Kaplan, Christine McNeill – Lawfare – 7 April 2025) When the United States government spots a market failure and decides to prevent a corporate merger or to break up an existing company, it generally proceeds only after doing legal and economic homework. To tackle a similar problem—regulating cybersecurity to fix perceived market failures—there is still substantial homework to be done. The Biden administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS), in a substantial departure from 25 years of presidential policy, asserted that the market has failed and that “regulation can level the playing field, enabling healthy competition without sacrificing cybersecurity or operational resilience.”. But as Harry Coker, the then-national cyber director, complained at a cyber-regulation conference, “there is not a lot of literature or a good understanding of the gap between cyber risk that is in a business’s self-interest to mitigate, and the risk that is in society’s interest to mitigate.” The literature on cyber market failures is thinly developed, mostly consisting of anecdotes and examples: interesting and illustrative but insufficient to support the weight of policymakers’ expectations. Any time the U.S. government wants to regulate, it does so only because of a market failure. “Even when markets are efficient,” explains Joseph Sitglitz, “they may fail to deliver socially desirable outcomes …. Governments impose regulations to prevent [socially unjust and unacceptable] exploitation and to pursue a number of other social goals.” – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/understanding-cyber-market-failures

Australian regulator pulls licenses of 95 companies in effort to crack down on investment scams

(James Reddick – The Record – 7 April 2025) An Australian corporate regulator is pulling the plug on 95 companies registered in the country that are believed to be illegitimate, with many of them having suspected links to online scams. A federal judge approved the immediate deregistration of 93 of the companies in an order on March 21. Two others will be wound up over time because they have “meaningful” assets. In a release on Monday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the regulator believed many of the companies were involved in “facilitating suspected scam activity by tricking consumers into making investments in phoney foreign exchange, digital assets or commodities trading.” – https://therecord.media/australia-pulls-95-company-licenses-scam-crackdown

Europe preparing to ‘ease the burden’ of landmark data privacy law

(Suzanne Smalley – The Record – 7 April 2025) The European Commission is now finalizing a plan to simplify and potentially remove many of the regulatory requirements imposed by the continent’s complex and far-reaching General Data Protection Regulation, particularly those impacting small and medium-sized businesses. The commission is working on a plan to simplify the law in order to “ease the burden” on smaller organizations while “preserving the underlying core objective of our GDPR regime,” Michael McGrath, the European commissioner overseeing data privacy laws, said in recent remarks at an interview at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). – https://therecord.media/eu-proposal-changes-gdpr-small-medium-businesses

U.S. Risks Falling Behind in Quantum Race, Colorado Leaders Warn

(Quantum Insider – 7 April 2025) U.S. leaders warn that without stronger investment, the country could lose its lead in quantum technology to China, with major economic and security consequences. Colorado’s Elevate Quantum consortium received the nation’s only federally funded Tech Hub award for quantum, unlocking over $127 million in additional support. A workforce roadmap by CU Boulder projects that up to 90% of future quantum-related jobs will not require a Ph.D., emphasizing the need for broad-based training. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/04/07/u-s-risks-falling-behind-in-quantum-race-colorado-leaders-warn/

Security

Leading the way in preventing the abuse of biometric recognition technology

(Europol – 7 April 2025) A new Europol report looks at the now ubiquitous biometric recognition technology and its potential for exploitation by criminals. Biometric recognition technology is a trusted and reliable way to verify identities and is now widely used to protect personal electronic devices and sensitive accounts. Fingerprint scans or facial recognition technology are increasingly replacing passwords to make logging in or confirming payment effortless. But this convenience presents new threats that need to be acknowledged by law enforcement and the general public. A password can be updated, but biometrics cannot. – https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/leading-way-in-preventing-abuse-of-biometric-recognition-technology

Defense, Intelligence, and Warfare

US plans sci-fi-style ‘Golden Dome’ to destroy nukes, hypersonic missiles from space

(Kapil Kajal – Interesting Engineering – 7 April 2025) To empower the idea of a space-to-air missile defense pitched by US President Donald Trump in January, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has set up an industry engagement to discuss the possible development of the system. Also known as the Golden Dome, the space-based interceptor (SBI) aims to neutralize missiles from space instead of the surface, including ballistic, hypersonic, and nuclear. The engagement notice, titled Industry Engagement for SBI supporting MDA Next-Generation Missile Defense and Golden Dome for America, was released on April 4. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-plans-sci-fi-style-golden-dome

Thales and Saildrone unleash next-gen ocean drones for subsea threat detection

(Neetika Walter – Interesting Engineering – 7 April 2025) Thales Australia has partnered with Saildrone to integrate its BlueSentry thin-line towed array sonar system with the Surveyor unmanned surface vessel. The collaboration aims to create a cutting-edge solution for autonomous and long-endurance undersea maritime domain awareness. Saildrone’s USVs are purpose-built for missions including hydrographic surveys, offshore energy monitoring, and critical infrastructure protection. The tie-up with the defense giant follows successful sea trials off the coast of California, where Saildrone’s Surveyor USV—equipped with Thales’ BlueSentry sensor package—operated almost uninterrupted for 26 days. The trials, funded by the United States Office of Naval Research, demonstrated that the systems detected and classified underwater and surface threats, with an uptime averaging more than 96%. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/thales-saildrone-undersea-alliance

US-Israel defense collaboration hits ‘Bullseye’ with new missile initiative

(Aamir Khollam – Interesting Engineering – 7 April 2025) An American defense firm and an Israeli weapons developer are teaming up to produce a next-generation missile. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems have agreed to co-develop Bullseye, a long-range, precision-guided strike weapon. The missile will be built in Mississippi and aimed at U.S. military customers. The deal was unveiled Monday during the Sea-Air-Space Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-israel-collab-for-bullseye-missile

Frontiers

Chinese Researchers Use Quantum Computer to Fine-Tune Billion-Parameter AI Model

(Quantum Insider – 7 April 2025) Chinese scientists used a domestically developed quantum computer to fine-tune a billion-parameter AI model, claiming this as a global first, Global Times reported. The experiment, conducted on the 72-qubit Origin Wukong system, showed improved model performance even after reducing parameters by over 75 percent, according to the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center. The research remains a demonstration rather than a commercial deployment, and no peer-reviewed study has been released, Global Times noted. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/04/07/chinese-researchers-use-quantum-computer-to-fine-tune-billion-parameter-ai-model/