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In previous posts in this series we reviewed foundational knowledge on bioengineering we recommend all business leaders possess and major topics that will impact the healthcare industry. In this post we go beyond healthcare to examine topics around application of biological sciences to other industries.
The Department of Defense (DoD) launched the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Investment Program (DBMIP) Which seeks “to strengthen domestic supply chains and sustain America’s global prominence in biotechnology. The DBMIP will execute investments through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), which helps lower barriers to allow DoD to work more expeditiously with…
Is your head still spinning from all the AI news of late? It will all seem so quaint when the useful humanoid robots arrive.
The future “architecture of space” will be distributed across a broad vision, inspired by science fiction, of what space can and will be in the future. Government agency-led contributions to this “architecture of space” will figure prominently – like the recent Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements – totalling $2.5 billion -…
Recent reporting indicates that U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) is in the middle of restructuring the organization and the forces that support it in order to best position the command to address the changing cyber threat landscape. The strategy behind “CYBERCOM 2.0” is that the more than 10-year-old command was built on principles that are outdated for the needs…
If you believe in first principles thinking, you need to know some basic facts about the quantum world. Quantum effects can be really strange. So many things we know from experiments just seem totally irrational, illogical and are downright befuddling. But understanding quantum effects can give you advantage in business. How? By empowering your ability…
The year 2024 will require a reorientation to new realities, largely driven by the acceleration of disruptive technologies grinding against the inertia of stale institutions that would rather we snack on the comfort food of the past than the buffet of the future. In past Almanacs we’ve talked about the rapid acceleration of technology and…
How can we know if we are over regulated without an overview of the regulatory environment? Here we provide a short overview of the regulation of government IT with an eye towards shedding light on ways to accelerate AI through some decontrol.
In our previous post in this series (see the OODA Special Report: Executive’s Guide To the Revolution in Biology) we reviewed some fundamentals in biological science and engineering we recommend all executives and investors be familiar with. In this post we dive into concepts centered around the impact of bioengineering on human health. The necessity…
RAND researchers in a recently released report explore biology as the platform on which future wars will be fought. Plagues, Cyborgs, and Supersoldiers: The Human Domain of War “examines a future in which biotechnology is used by both state and nonstate actors…future actors may use pathogens, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), genomic enhancements, and wearable technology to…
The first OODA Network Member Meeting of 2024 was held on Friday January 19, 2024. The meeting was organized around an initial prompt question: “What should we be thinking about in 2024?” The meeting aimed to gather input and discuss the big issues of 2024, including geopolitical futures and technological advancements. Network members were encouraged…
“Trust us” is no longer an acceptable response from the very government entities sworn to protect the people of the country.
Maybe it is time to start thinking of ways to decontrol our AI. Here are some reasons why.
An update to our report on what executives need to know about the business impact of biological sciences.
“When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane, you also invent the plane crash” is a seering insight attributed to cultural theorist Paul Virilio – and is oft quoted here at OODA Loop. We review here some of the new “inventions” that are part and parcel of the emergence…
Last month, U.S. financial markets tumbled after a Chinese start-up called DeepSeek said it had built one of the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence systems using far fewer computer chips than many experts thought possible. A.I. companies typically train their chatbots using supercomputers packed with 16,000 specialized chips or more. But DeepSeek said it needed…
The Ukrainian Parliament has approved a contentious bill allowing for the government to purchase nuclear reactors. Ukraine will purchase two unused, Russian-made nuclear reactors from Bulgaria, costing at least $600 million. The government has plans to install the reactors in western Ukraine at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. The project has faced sharp criticism for…
U.S. allies are condemning President Donald Trump for his decision to put 25% tariff rates on all steel and aluminum imports starting next month. Leaders of several of the U.S.’s main trading partners, including Mexico, Canada, and the European Union are describing the latest move as “reckless” and “counterproductive.” The allies have warned that they…
Following the docking of a U.S. Navy fast-attack nuclear submarine in a South Korean port, North Korea is now warning of a potential confrontation. The USS Alexandria submarine docked in a port in Busan on Monday for supplies. North Korea is accusing the U.S. of “posing a grave threat to its national security.” The country’s…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to resume Israel’s war on Gaza if Hamas does not release its captives by Saturday. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire has been on the brink of collapsing this week after Hamas officials accused Israel of violating parts of the agreement. This prompted Hamas to halt the release of more captives,…
On Tuesday, major chip makers Intel, AMD, and Nvidia published new security advisories informing customers about high-severity vulnerabilities. Intel published 34 new advisories on Tuesday, one of which has a severity rating of “critical.” AMD released 11 new advisories, which is significantly more for the company than in a typical month. Lastly, Nvidia published four…
India is continuing to see a surge in cybercrime against both citizens and businesses. Cyber fraud against citizens has increased by 51% over the past year. Additionally, India is seeing cyberattacks against businesses at much larger volumes than global averages. Cybercrime complaints by Indian citizens increased by over 6 million in 2024. As the country…
On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Zservers, a Russian cybercrime network. The Treasury’s U.S. and Australian counterparts sanctioned the hosting services provider as well. Zservers is a web-hosting service that ignores or evades law enforcement requests. Two Russian nationals who operate the site were sanctioned as well. The Treasury…
Four individuals suspected of being leaders of a ransomware group have been arrested by the Thai police. The individuals are believed to be leaders of the 8Base ransomware group and were involved with stealing around $16 million from over 1,000 victims. The suspects were arrested following the issue of warrants by Interpol, requested by Swiss…
I have personally tracked Quantum Technologies for decades now, publishing my first paper on the topic in 2003. Now at OODA we maintain close tabs on the state of Quantum Computing, Quantum Sensing and Quantum Security (including QKD, Encryption Algorithms and the use of quantum effects for true random). Things are moving so fast in…
The UK and US have not signed an international agreement on artificial intelligence (AI) at a global summit in Paris. The statement, signed by France, China and India among other countries, pledges an “open”, “inclusive” and “ethical” approach to the technology’s development. Downing Street said the UK “hadn’t been able to agree all parts of…
I never thought I’d find myself writing a posting for an “AI Agent,” but here I am, scouring crypto and blockchain forums, Telegram groups, and even personal referrals for the perfect fit. Traditional hires don’t quite cut it in the fast-paced world of digital assets. I need someone—scratch that, something—capable of staying awake 24/7, sifting…
American defense startup XDOWN has introduced a multi-purpose drone that is deployed as easily as a quarterback throws a football. The oval-shaped PS Killer (PSK) is activated with a simple switch and then hurled into action. It boasts a range of over 40 miles (64 kilometers) and reaches speeds of 135 knots (155 miles/250 kilometers…
Elon Musk and a group of investors offered to buy ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for $97.4 billion Monday, a sum far below the artificial-intelligence company’s most recent valuation of $157 billion. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman immediately shot down the offer in a post on X. “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion…
BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle maker that is Tesla’s biggest rival, has unveiled an advanced self-driving system that it plans to install on its entire model line-up including the Rmb70,000 ($9,600) Seagull budget hatchback. Dubbed “God’s Eye”, the driving system was developed in-house by BYD and will equip the carmaker’s mass-market models with features commonly…
Apple does a lot of research into fundamental computer problems, and some of that results in real features of the products we buy. We can only hope the tech featured in the latest report published by their machine learning team is one of them. A new research paper and video posted to Apple’s Machine Learning…
The transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only helping businesses; it is also bringing about major changes in the world of cybersecurity. Positively, AI is improving automated, real-time cyber threat identification and analysis. Businesses now have improved and faster capabilities for cyber defense, enabling them to monitor system activity, identify anomalies, and identify…
On Monday, President Trump said that he may cut off aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refuse to permanently take in most Palestinians from Gaza. This greatly increases pressure on key U.S. allies in the region to support Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans and redevelop the Gaza Strip. Trump also stated that if Hamas…
The United Nations has suspended all operations in the Saada region of Yemen after more of its staff was detained by Houthi authorities. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq stated that the measures are necessary to guarantee the safety and security of UN personnel. Seven UN agencies currently operate in the region, and it is unknown…
President Trump said that he will not allow Palestinians to return to the Gaza Strip under his hypothetical plan to rebuild it. Trump plans to displace the almost two million Palestinians from Gaza and rehouse them elsewhere. Trump’s declaration that the U.S. will take over Gaza and resettle its population has attracted criticism from across…
Hamas is delaying the release of more Israeli captives “until further notice” over Israeli ceasefire violations. The captive release was previously planned for Saturday. Israel and Hamas are currently in the middle of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas is releasing dozens of captives in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. However, Hamas spokesperson Abu…
A hacker recently posted on the BreachForums cybercrime forum offering to sell 20 million OpenAI credentials. However, after investigation into the claims by OpenAI, the company has found that the data likely came from information-stealing malware instead of the AI firm’s systems. Kela, a threat intelligence firm, conducted an analysis of the sample data posted…
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has begun notifying individuals that their data was compromised in a 2023 Russian hack. The attack occurred in December 2023, and was attributed to Russian threat actor Midnight Blizzard, also known as APT29. The group is believed to be backed by the Russian government. In the attack, the actors accessed the mailboxes…
Memorial Hospital and Manor, a small rural hospital in Bainbridge, Georgia, has revealed that around 120,000 people were impacted in a recent ransomware attack. The attack was first disclosed in early November 2024, with the hospital shutting down systems. Staff had to use pen and paper to record patient information while the systems were offline.…
One of the largest newspaper groups in the U.S., Lee Enterprises, has reported a cyberattack impacting its operations. Lee Enterprises is a public publishing company with newspapers in 72 markets, including The Buffalo News, Omaha World-Herald, and Richmond Times-Dispatch. The company has not yet identified any material impact from the data breach, and is still…
When Taiwan’s Powerchip Technology entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access the promising Chinese market. Nine years later, however, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip, has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip…
Scientists at Oxford University have linked two separate quantum processors into a single, fully connected quantum computer, marking a major step toward scalable quantum systems, the team reports in a study and university news release. The experiment, published in Nature, demonstrates the feasibility of distributed quantum computing, a strategy that could eventually enable powerful quantum…
Chinese officials are building a list of U.S. technology companies that can be targeted with antitrust probes and other tools, hoping to influence the tech executives who are heavily represented in President Trump’s orbit. People familiar with Beijing’s strategy said the goal was to collect as many cards as possible to play in expected negotiations…
A Hong Kong biotech start-up is working with a number of university partners to conduct global clinical trials that could lead to a better way of delivering drugs for prevalent eye diseases. Alephoson Biopharmaceuticals, established in 2019, has developed a technology to combine a proprietary cell-penetration peptide (CPP) compound with biologic medication that is currently…
OpenAI is pushing ahead on its plan to reduce its reliance on Nvidia for its chip supply by developing its first generation of in-house artificial-intelligence silicon. The ChatGPT maker is finalizing the design for its first in-house chip in the next few months and plans to send it for fabrication at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co,…
MIT scientists are designing robotic insects that could one day swarm out of mechanical hives and perform pollination at a rapid pace — ensuring fruits and vegetables are grown at an unprecedented level. The new technology could increase crop yields dramatically without harming the environment. Artificial pollination is a process through which humans manually move…
As a CIO, it’s likely that this year, your IT team is moving quickly from evaluating and deploying discrete third-party AI software packages, to integrating custom AI agents throughout your client-facing and internal business applications for even further automation and productivity. They’re likely working with at least one AI agent builder platform and perhaps several…
United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, and reciprocal tariffs on countries leveling duties on US goods. Canada is the top supplier of steel to the US, followed by Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam. Canada is also the top exporter of aluminium…
The Israeli military began a full withdrawal from a sprawling security zone within the central Gaza Strip as part of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. The withdrawal leaves Israel with a small footprint inside the enclave as the two sides look toward extending the deal that would end the war and release the remaining Israeli…
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump have struck a warm tone in their first meeting, with Tokyo avoiding tariffs that Trump has slapped on other allies. The two leaders pledged to stand together against Chinese “aggression” and said they found a solution to a blocked deal for troubled US Steel. Trump…
United States President Donald Trump has reiterated his controversial proposal to take control of Gaza, saying he is committed to “buying and owning” the war-ravaged enclave. “As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it; other people may do it, through our…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, still reeling about the fact that Chinese startup DeepSeek managed to build a much cheaper but just as powerful AI chatbot, now says that the cost of using AI will drop by 10 times each year. Altman said OpenAI will make “better models” that will also be cheaper. US President Trump…
Microsoft announced an expansion to its Copilot bug bounty program to include more consumer products and provide researchers with higher incentives. The same as before, bug hunters can earn up to $30,000 for critical-severity vulnerabilities in multiple Copilot AI products and services, but the payouts for medium-severity flaws have been increased. Per the program’s rules,…
Cybersecurity startup ThreatMate, an AI-powered attack surface management platform, announced raising $3.2 million in a seed funding round led by Top Down Ventures’ Founders Fund I. The platform relies on AI to provide enterprise-grade cyber protections against threats and to deliver comprehensive visibility into an organization’s attack surface. The new investment will be used to…
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday the inclusion of a major US biotech company on its “unreliable entity list” while stating that the firm’s “discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises” harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. Leading American genomic sequencing firm Illumina is the first biotech company on Beijing’s list. More than…
The cost of clean energy technologies worldwide, such as wind, solar and battery storage, are expected to fall further this year, a report by BloombergNEF showed on Thursday, despite rising protectionism in the form of tariffs on green energy imports. New wind and solar farms already undercut the production costs of new coal and gas…
In a breakthrough achievement towards making quantum computing practical on a large scale, scientists at the University of Oxford have successfully demonstrated distributed quantum computing for the first time. By allowing small quantum devices to work together rather than overloading a single machine, the researchers achieved quantum teleportation of logical gates, according to the findings…
The US Air Force is developing a low-cost cruise missile known as the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM), which could evolve into an air-launched counter-drone weapon, The War Zone reported. Whether the weapon will be a jack-of-all-trades or master of none in the drone warfare era is unclear. The ERAM program, launched to meet the…
Humanoid robots could soon move in a far more realistic manner — and even dance just like us — thanks to a new software framework for tracking human motion. Developed by researchers at UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, MIT, and Nvidia, “ExBody2” is a new technology that enables humanoid robots to perform realistic movements based…
While the AI market has in recent days seemed to collapse around DeepSeek and OpenAI, there are of course many other teams of brilliant engineers fielding large language models (LLMs) that are worth a look as users and enterprises seek to use the latest and greatest. Take Mistral AI, the French startup that made headlines…
Amazon said Thursday it plans to boost its capital expenditures to $100 billion in 2025, as it continues its investments in artificial intelligence. The capex figure exceeds last year’s spending of roughly $83 billion. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy had predicted in October that the company’s 2025 capex would surpass last year’s figure, primarily driven by…
The Bank of England has halved its growth projection for the UK. The Bank of England halved its growth projection for the UK at its recent meeting. They also lowered the main interest to 4.50% which is the lowest level since 2023. The move is a blow to the Labour government which has prioritized increasing…
The Philippine Vice President has been impeached after facing several allegations related to official misconduct. The Philippine Vice President has been impeached after facing scrutiny for several scandals. The Vice President was impeached an accusations of plotting to assassinate the President, corruption, and not taking a strong stance against Chinese aggression. The impeachment comes after…
France has adopted a budget. The French government has adopted a budget after several fractious debates. The Prime Minister was forced to use special constitutional powers to force the budget through. The far left and far right parties opposed the move, but enough members voted in favor to overcome the opposition. The budget aims to…
Additional police forces have arrived in Haiti to support on going operations. 200 additional Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti to support on going operations within the country. Haitian police and international forces have thus far been unable to restore order in the crisis ridden nation. Other nations in the region have continued to…
Cisco has patched several vulnerabilities in its enterprise security product. Cisco has patched several vulnerabilities in its enterprise security product. The vulnerabilities could allow threat actors to compromise devices by using administrative level privileges to compromise APIs. Cisco has said they working to resolve other vulnerabilities that users have identified in its products. Read more:…
Spanish police have arrested an individual wanted in connection with several cyber attacks against NATO. Spanish police have arrested an individual wanted in connection with several cyber attacks against NATO and US military infrastructure. The police were able to identify him after he launched a cyber attack against the Spanish civil guard. Police also seized…
A major US hiring platform has exposed the data of several million users. The US online hiring platform Foh&Boh has exposed the data of millions of job seekers. The site stored applicant data on an exposed AWS server. The server has been exposed for an unknown amount of time. The exposed data largely relates to…
Researchers have uncovered a large network of malicious apps targeting Android users in India. Cyber security researchers have uncovered a large network of malicious apps targeting Android users in India. The apps intercepted SMS messages and used those messages to initiate transactions. The apps also had systems to ensure they could not be deleted from…
The European Commission has announced the opening of a new Biotech and Biomanufacturing Hub, supporting start-ups and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in bringing new innovations to the EU market. The Hub, hosted on the EU Commission’s Your Europe portal, is in all EU languages and explains such things as: the sources of EU funding…
Apple Inc., which counts China as its biggest manufacturing hub and the US as its largest market, is now at the center of an escalating geopolitical fight that threatens to span tariffs and regulatory probes. The Trump administration’s new 10% levy on Chinese-made goods is poised to squeeze the company at an already-challenging time, when…
Google (GOOG) aims to release commercial quantum computing applications within five years, Google’s head of quantum told Reuters on Wednesday, in a challenge to Nvidia’s predictions of a 20-year wait. “We’re optimistic that within five years we’ll see real-world applications that are possible only on quantum computers,” founder and lead of Google Quantum AI Hartmut…
ChatGPT no longer requires you to log in to use the AI chatbot’s search engine, OpenAI announced on Wednesday. With the feature, ChatGPT will surface responses based on information from the web while presenting a list of sources it used to inform its answer. OpenAI first launched its search engine to paid ChatGPT subscribers last…
Boston Dynamics Wednesday announced a partnership designed to bring improved reinforcement learning to its electric Atlas humanoid robot. The tie-up is with the Robotics & AI Institute (RAI Institute), earlier known as The Boston Dynamics AI Institute. Both organizations were founded by Marc Raibert, a former MIT professor who served as Boston Dynamics’ CEO for…
When 102 humanoid robots from 10 different companies converged last month at a sprawling 4,000-square-metre facility on the outskirts of Shanghai, trained in essential tasks – walking, making beds, washing dishes, screwing bolts and even welding – it showed how China is on the fast track to a future where humans and humanoid robots seamlessly…
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