News Updates

US sea power is changing in the robotic age, a security analyst noted in Issues a while ago, detailing the military’s pursuit of a new generation of autonomous surface and underwater vessels to meet changing maritime warfare challenges. But even as the military pursues expanded robotic fleets—and China does likewise—Congress reportedly seems determined to scuttle the plans, with some lawmakers arguing that the high-tech vessels remain too untested to be incorporated in large numbers into the nation’s fleet.

Hurricane Laura’s charge through Louisiana, Texas, and neighboring states reveals again the devastating power of nature—and the nation’s need to adapt to the relentless global warming increasingly linked to climate-related disasters. For a guide, two analysts recently proposed in Issues a set of national priorities that include improving climate hazard and risk information; investing in adaptation-related applied research; planning for the costs and economic consequences of global warming; and strengthening policies for risk mitigation, crisis avoidance, and protection of vulnerable populations.

With President Trump reducing the number of H-1B visas awarded to skilled foreign workers, and presidential challenger Joe Biden promising to expand them, two Bloomberg Opinion columnists recently weighed in, staking out markedly different views. No stranger to this hot-button topic, Issues has presented arguments that the visa program has helped the country build a uniquely productive science and technology enterprise, as well as arguments that the nation produces enough of its own skilled workers so that targeted visa policies are unnecessary and perhaps even harmful.

Worried about what they see as a “polarization and politicization of science” within some religious communities during the coronavirus pandemic, a sizable group of theologians and pastors, together with doctors and scientists, recently called on fellow believers to “follow the advice of public health experts and support scientists doing crucial biomedical research.” Issues earlier explored this sometimes contentious confluence in a series of personal stories built around how science and religion challenge each other and how they can work together and strengthen one another.

To help curb carbon dioxide emissions, diverse forces from industry, the construction community, and government are looking to reformulate concrete, the world’s most common building material, which is responsible for roughly 8% of global carbon emissions. This is just the type of “hard-to-decarbonize” activity that an energy analyst recently noted in Issues will require fundamental technological breakthroughs and greater attention from policy-makers. He proposed six key areas for expanded federal investment to help accelerate innovation and damper climate change.

In reviewing the history of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects, as well as the Pentagon’s secrecy-shrouded efforts to keep tabs on what it prefers to call unexplained aerial phenomena, a journalist writing in Issues came away wondering if the military would ever come clean about its interests. Maybe there’s a chance yet. Reportedly spurred by public pressure, the Pentagon says it is forming a high-level task force to investigate the mysterious sightings, citing the need to determine whether a foreign country has developed aerial super-technology that could threaten US security.

With a record number of states set to offer mail-in voting, pushed in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump says the US Postal Service lacks adequate funding to handle the job, while also warning that he will block any emergency or longer-term aid. But current fiscal wrangling aside, vote-by-mail seems likely to expand, and an Issues online exclusive proposes some fundamental lessons for government officials to ensure that it is done right—notably addressing cybersecurity concerns and making the process easily accessible for everyone.

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch, citing its new report on the defense policies of nearly 100 countries, is ramping up its campaign for an international ban on so-called killer robots controlled by artificial intelligence rather than human operators. In Issues, two scholars earlier singled out fully autonomous weapons as one product of artificial intelligence that deserved tighter control, and they proposed a robust decision-making system to ensure that such weapons, as well as other AI-enhanced technologies, stay within a predetermined set of safe operational boundaries.

To ease a speed bump facing electric vehicles, General Motors is helping the charging network EVgo add about 700 fast-charging stations capable of serving five vehicles at a time and recharging them in 30–40 minutes. Other charging companies plan expansions as well. But an analyst argues in Issues that to truly help in reducing carbon emissions that drive climate change, new technologies are needed for large-scale storage of electricity from clean sources and for alternative charging systems that give EV owners more flexibility in where and when they recharge.

Private companies have increasingly entered the space business, long dominated by the governments of the United States and other major powers, an analyst pointed out in Issues several years ago. Along with the benefits deriving from private space innovation will come challenges, she noted, citing as one example how government regulators might have trouble keeping up with expanded manufacture and launch of satellites. Welcome to today—as a growing roster of companies plan to send many thousands of new satellites into orbit, yet US space policies still aren’t keeping pace.