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While the release of ChatGPT and enterprise-level deployment of Large Language Models have been impactful, all organizations should also be digging deeper into recent AI and deep learning history and ask the question: “How is Deepmind’s Alphafold representative of the future architectures, ecosystems, platforms and value creation opportunities in our industry sector and subsectors?”
An analysis of the latest Alphafold breakthrough – Enformer, a neural network architecture that accurately predicts gene expression from DNA sequences – and the What’s Next? of the future of AI and Genomics.
We are in the midst of a Covid, RSV, and flu virus surge that both media and governmental outlets have not and are no doing any public messaging about (in some regions, the current surge matches the metrics of the first Omnicron surge in 2021). In this post, we take a look at various perspespectives…
The fact that attribution -especially against states – is even done with any confidence is surprising given that those that attributing both herald the sophistication associated with state actors while at the same time citing their carelessness as one of the reasons that they were able to be identified in the first place. Read more here.
We have tracked vital recent developments in health security, bioengineering, synthetic biology, biotechnology, and medical technology – which are compiled here. The future of the U.S. Bioeconomy is crucial to the future of strategic competitive advantage globally – all of which was discussed in a future-forward fashion at OODAcon 2023.
Established in June 2021, the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC) is comprised of experts on cybersecurity, technology, risk management, privacy, and resilience, who advise the Director on policies and programs related to CISA’s mission. This post leads with summaries from the most recent CISA CSAC Quarterly Meetings, followed by an archive from all previous CSAC…
Over the course of 2023, we posted a series of post on the issues and risks which Boards of Directors should consider related to emerging technology and cybersecurity. Global polycrises, exponential technological disruption, and unprecedented historical uncertainty aside: From OpenAI to FTX, the market and the media narrative have proven that fiduciary responsibility and corporate…
Since its inception in early 2022, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS), Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) has generated some interesting outputs, specifically: reports on the Lapsus Hacking Group and the ongoing challenges created by the Log4j Vulnerability. Find the details here.
As announced by the State Department at the end of 2023: “As a result of Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, the Tallinn Mechanism, hereafter referred to as “the Mechanism,” aims to coordinate and facilitate civilian cyber capacity building to help Ukraine uphold its fundamental right to self-defense in cyberspace and address longer-term cyber…
The final OODA Network Member Meeting of 2023 was held on Friday December 15, 2023. The OODA Network was joined at the meeting by Mike Studeman(Rear Admiral, USN ret) to help the OODA Network members think through developments with China. China is a large and complicated country which makes for a large and complex domain…
Recent reporting reveals that both state and non state cyber actors are actively targeting critical infrastructures with impunity. What does this mean for the future?
Once again, 2023 was marked by security professionals reacting to threats, incidents, and vulnerabilities of a constant, unrelenting frequency, volume, and scale. Crypto continued its”desctruction destruction” – while many remain bullish on the potential of the underlying blockchain technology. And new cybersecurity regulatory frameworks emerged as CISA moved from ‘partner’ to ‘regulatory enforcer’ [with] a…
The Federal Government continues to teeter on the brink of constitutional crisis and threats of violence from foreign and domestic actors – while showing really positive signs of innovation and thoughtful regulation and engagement on exponential technologies like quantum science, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology (including ongoing private sector interest and investment in (and the establishment…
In this era of global polycrisis, over the course of 2023 leaders were also reacting to the major macro economic trend of the last thirty years – the fundamental driver of the tetonic shifts in geopolitics and deep inside the economies of nation-states – which is that the BRICs global share of GDP May Overtake…
We started the OODAcast as a way of highlighting insights and lessons learned from leaders and decision-makers in the OODA Network including former intelligence community leaders and operators. In 2023 the video version of the OODAcast grew to 2100 subscribers on YouTube. Our 242 videos have generated 260,000 views, half of which were in 2023. Find…
Globe Life, an insurance firm, has revealed that a malicious actor may have compromised the data of around 850,000 individuals. A data breach in October 2024 may have led to the compromise of personal, health, and insurance information of hundreds of thousands of people. The attack was discovered when a threat actor attempted to extort…
The data of over one million individuals was compromised in the recent data breach of Connecticut healthcare provider Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC). The incident was discovered on January 2, when the organization found unusual activity on its network. The attacker was able to access or exfiltrate patient health records, containing information such as Social…
The Python Package Index (PyPI) package repository has been found to contain two malicious packages leveraging the DeepSeek name. Although they were only up for around 30 minutes, the packages were downloaded 36 times. The malicious attack began on January 29, when the packages were published. They appeared to be client libraries to access and…
Irish biotech GH Research has said the phase 2 win for its inhaled depression drug has “paved the way for future commercial success.” The inhaled mebufotenin candidate, dubbed GH001, was evaluated in the midstage study of 81 patients with treatment-resistant depression. The 40 patients who received GH001 saw an average 15.2 point reduction on the…
Meta’s total investment in virtual and augmented reality is set to top $100bn this year, as its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has declared 2025 will be a “defining year” for its smart glasses. In its latest annual report, Meta revealed it invested $19.9bn in its Reality Labs division last year, hitting a new high after…
UBS offers Swiss retail and wealth clients the ability to make fractional gold investments through its UBS key4 gold product. It is managed using a permissioned blockchain, the UBS Gold Network, but now the bank wants to explore making the offering available outside of Switzerland. Hence, it ran a proof of concept (PoC) using ZKsync,…
A hint to the future arrived quietly over the weekend. For a long time, I’ve been discussing two parallel revolutions in AI: the rise of autonomous agents and the emergence of powerful Reasoners since OpenAI’s o1 was launched. These two threads have finally converged into something really impressive – AI systems that can conduct research…
A team of engineers, physicists and computer specialists at Canadian company, Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., has unveiled what they describe as the world’s first scalable, connected, photonic quantum computer prototype. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how they designed and built their modularized quantum computer, and how it can be…
Last week, Chinese robotics company Unitree released a video showing 16 of its H1 humanoid robots busting moves alongside human dancers at a Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year) Gala event. They not only danced in sync with the beat and the human troupe, but each of them also flawlessly pulled off an incredibly challenging…
A week ago, OpenAI released a tool that can go online to shop for groceries or book a restaurant reservation. Now it is offering A.I. technology that can gather information from across the internet and synthesize it in concise reports. OpenAI unveiled the new tool, called Deep Research, with a demonstration on YouTube on Sunday,…
This engaging session at OODAcon 2024 featured a deep dive into the intersection of national security, technology, and policy, led by Matt Devost, with contributions from experts Jim and Will. The panel explored the mindset of global adversaries and their dual approaches to conflict and peace. Scenarios discussed included potential moves like a Chinese blockade…
Trump accused the South African government of confiscating land, adding that he plans to cut all funding for the country. Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill into law that would make it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest to address racial disparities in land ownership after…
The U.S. conducted an airstrike against Islamic State militants in Somalia, the first such military operation since President Trump returned to the White House. The strike targeted an Islamic State Operative. A senior U.S. official said it could take some time to determine if the main target survived the airstrike. The official said the man…
The United States has imposed stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, prompting swift retaliatory measures from the country’s North American neighbors. Trump said the tariffs were necessary to “protect Americans” and promised to keep the duties in place until what he called a national emergency in the US over the drug fentanyl…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to the United States to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire agreed with Palestinian group Hamas. The first phase of the ceasefire is set to free 33 Israeli captives in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is expected to cover the release…
While AI assistants like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT offer incredible benefits, they are also being exploited by cybercriminals. Google’s latest report reveals that advanced persistent threat (APT) groups from multiple nations, including Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia, have been experimenting with Gemini to streamline their cyber operations. This trend is a major concern…
On Thursday, authorities in the US and Netherlands announced the disruption of a Pakistan-based network of illicit online marketplaces selling hacking and fraud-enabling tools. For roughly five years, these websites had been operated by a threat actor known as Saim Raza and HeartSender, and advertised as facilitating fraud. Since 2020, Saim Raza has been selling…
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a ban on Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek for government-issued devices. “Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Abbott said in a statement. The governor also prohibited popular Chinese-owned social media apps Xiaohongshu and Lemon8…
OpenAI on Thursday said the U.S. National Laboratories will be using its latest artificial intelligence models for scientific research and nuclear weapons security. Under the agreement, up to 15,000 scientists working at the National Laboratories may be able to access OpenAI’s reasoning-focused o1 series. OpenAI will also work with Microsoft , its lead investor, to…
SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum announced a partnership to advance quantum computing into practical applications, including plans for a quantum data center. According to a joint statement, the collaboration will address AI’s current limitations and enable next-generation solutions to complex problems. The initiative, timed with the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in 2025, aims…
Mistral AI, the rapidly ascending European artificial intelligence startup, unveiled a new language model today that it claims matches the performance of models three times its size while dramatically reducing computing costs — a development that could reshape the economics of advanced AI deployment. The new model, called Mistral Small 3, has 24 billion parameters…
As blockchain technology seeps slowly into the traditional financial services ecosystem, it is offering new opportunities through tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi). Today’s episode of the Tearsheet podcast hosts Paul Brody, EY’s Global Blockchain Leader who shares his expertise on these developments. Paul is focusing on the promise of public blockchain and the challenges surrounding…
Japan expanded its export controls to include cutting-edge chips and quantum computer-related technology, a move China warned could have a negative impact on trade between the two countries. The Japanese government is expanding its list of export-controlled items to include advanced chips, lithography equipment and cryocoolers needed for the manufacture of quantum computers, according to…
DeepSeek took the world by storm. For the last week, DeepSeek has been the only topic that anyone in the world wants to talk about. As it currently stands, DeepSeek daily traffic is now much higher than Claude, Perplexity, and even Gemini. But to close watchers of the space, this is not exactly “new” news.…
Large language models like those developed by Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI are set to become commoditized this year amid rapid advances toward next-generation artificial intelligence agents and more nimble, open-source rivals, according to top tech executives. Last week, Chinese AI firm DeepSeek released R1, an open-source reasoning model that claims to rival OpenAI’s o1 model on…
The Philippines has offered to make a deal with China regarding their maritime border dispute. The Philippine President has offered to remove a controversial US missile system from the nation if China stops its maritime aggression. China has not responded to this offer. The US deployed the Typhoon missile system to the Philippines in response…
Rwandan back rebels in the Congo have announced their intention to march on the capital. The Rwandan backed group, M23, have announced their intention to march on the capital of the DRC. This comes after the group successfully captured the city of Goma which is the largest city in eastern Congo. The government of the…
The exchange of prisoners by Israel and Hamas has continued despite several tense moments. Israel and Hamas have continued to release prisoners and hostages despite several tense moments. Hamas released another 8 hostages while Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners. Unrest has continued with some protesters attacking Israeli forces as the prisoners were being exchanged. Hamas…
The EU has extended sanctions against Russia for another 6 months. The EU has agreed to extended sanctions against Russia for another 6 months. This was agreed to after Hungary agreed to drop its opposition to the extension. Part of the agreement to extend sanctions included the EU agreeing to take a tougher stance on…
Hackers were able to make use of official looking Google phone numbers and emails to attack individuals. It has been reported that a group of hackers made use of official looking Google phone numbers and emails to attack individuals. The hackers attempted to have individuals grant remote access to their accounts by calling from a…
The New York Blood Center has disclosed that its operations have been impacted by a ransomware attack. The New York Blood Center has disclosed that it’s system have been attacked with ransomware. They say the attack has been mitigated but that several systems remain shutdown. The ransomware attack has worsened an already on going blood…
GitHub on Thursday said it was investigating reports that its systems are down. GitHub has said it was investigating reports that users were experiencing outages. Nearly 3,000 users in the United States reported that the platform was down. The users reported that pull requests were not functioning. GitHub has said that the issue was related…
A major US broadcaster has exposed over 1 million sensitive files. US broadcaster, Valley News Live, exposed over 1 million files containing the personnel information of job applicants. Researchers found that the company’s job portal was not secured enough and allowed outside actors to gain access to sensitive personnel data. The researchers have contacted the…
Dr. Amr Awadallah, founder and CEO of Vectara, presented a compelling session on the future of AI innovation. Amr explored how AI systems empower individuals to operate like experts in specialized fields, much like Neo’s instant mastery of Kung Fu in the film. He emphasized the widespread reliance on AI for expertise, using examples like…
In his thought-provoking presentation at OODAcon, Gil Verdon, physicist and CEO of Extropic, outlined his vision for a future where technological innovation drives humanity toward extraordinary achievements. Introduced by Bob Gourley as a critical voice in the high-tech sector and founder/leader of the techno-optimist movement of e/acc, Verdon emphasized the importance of accelerating innovation despite…
Waymo is preparing to test its self-driving taxis in more than 10 new cities across the U.S. The self-driving-technology company owned by Google parent Alphabet on Wednesday said that Las Vegas and San Diego will be the first additional cities where it will be testing its services in 2025. The company is currently conducting tests…
In an essay on Wednesday, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, weighed in on the debate over whether Chinese AI company DeepSeek’s success implies that U.S. export controls on AI chips aren’t working. Amodei, who recently made the case for stronger export controls in an op-ed co-written with former U.S. deputy national security adviser Matt…
Facebook’s parent company Meta has expanded its clean energy partnership with renewable energy developer Zelestra by signing four new Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreements (EAPAs) to develop four solar projects in Texas with a total capacity of 720 MW. Under the EAPAs, the projects will deliver electricity into the ERCOT grid which also connects to several…
Microsoft is bringing OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model to all Copilot users this week. You won’t need to subscribe to a $20 monthly Copilot Pro or ChatGPT Plus plan to get it either, as Microsoft is making it free for all users of Copilot. Think Deeper, as Microsoft calls its integration of o1, works by allowing…
The appearance of DeepSeek-R1, a Chinese AI model that seems to rival OpenAI’s latest offerings far more cheaply, shocked markets this week and erased $1 trillion from U.S. stock values. This event underscored the stakes of America’s technology race with China—and how close that race is. But as well as competing over AI models such…
Hackers hiding in plain sight, avatars being used in novel attacks, and even perpetual 2FA-bypass threats against Google users have been reported. What a time to be alive if you are a criminal hacker, although calling this latest scary hacker alive is a stretch: be warned, this malicious AI wants your Gmail credentials. Imagine getting…
SoftBank is in talks to invest $15 billion to $25 billion in OpenAI, potentially deepening the relationship between the two companies that are already planning a significant artificial-intelligence infrastructure initiative. Some of that equity investment could be used for OpenAI’s commitment to Stargate, a joint venture with SoftBank and others it announced last week at…
Germany’s government projects little economic growth in 2025. Germany’s government has decreased the nation’s projected economic growth from 1.1% to 0.3%. Industry groups has released more negative projects with some suggestions slightly negative growth. Germany’s economy has struggled to deal with several challenges related to inflation and decreased international trade. Read more: https://apnews.com/article/germany-economy-2025-government-forecast-election-4c1397953441394ddb1aa057c6fffecd
Protests in Serbia continue after the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister. Protests continue across Serbia even after the country’s Prime Minister has resigned. Protests began after a partial building collapse of a railway station killed 15 people. Protesters are demanding the government take action to end corruption. The government has largely refused to back…
Japan has chosen to suspend funding to a UN women’s right panel after it called for the end of male-only imperial succession. Japan has given notice that it will suspend funding for a UN women’s rights panel after it called for the end of male-only imperial succession. The government asserted that the imperial succession policy…
El Salvador’s Congress has approved changes that make it easier to amend the Consitution. El Salvador’s Congress has approved a Constitutional amendment which makes it easier to amend the Constitution. Critics say the change will allow the current ruling party to further consolidate power. Propoents say that this is an important change to ensure that…
DeepSeek data was found to be unsecured. A cybersecurity firm reported that it was able to access sensitive DeepSeek data. DeepSeek is a new AI model that was released by a Chinese company which has sent shockwaves through the tech sector. The researchers said that the data was made inaccessible by the owner’s of DeepSeek,…
The FBI has seized several websites affiliated with cybercrimes. The FBI in cooperation with other agencies has shutdown several websites involved with cybercrimes. Many of these sites have been operating for several years. These sites were used by several different groups to conduct everything from basic scams to ransomware. Read more: https://cybernews.com/cybercrime/hacker-forums-cracked-nulled-mysellix-starkrdp-siezed-fbi-operation-talent/
H&M has been the victim of a data breach. Fashion retailer H&M has been the victim of a data breach. The breach mostly affects individuals in the United Arabs Emeritus. The breach exposed over 4 million customer’s personal data. Read more: https://cybernews.com/news/hm-online-shoppers-details-stolen-hackers-claim/
Researchers have found vulnerabilities in the Lightning AI platform. Researchers have found vulnerabilities in the Lightning AI platform. Attackers were able to run root commands on user’s computers if they clicked on malicious links. The developers of Lighting AI have said that the vulnerability has been patched and urges users to make sure they are…
While there are many ways to build a quantum computer, one popular platform that features superconducting qubits can leverage existing semiconductor fabrication processes and has demonstrated potential for scalability. Most commonly used is the transmon qubit, a micron-sized, nonlinear resonator made from superconducting films typically fabricated on silicon wafers. But because of defects in the…
OpenAI says it has found evidence that Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek used the US company’s proprietary models to train its own open-source competitor, as concerns grow over a potential breach of intellectual property. The San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker told the Financial Times it had seen some evidence of “distillation”, which it suspects to be…
Using RNA to interfere with a gene’s expression of disease-causing proteins is a validated therapeutic approach, but so far, the products in this drug class only address liver proteins. Reducing levels of certain proteins in the central nervous system (CNS) could offer a new way to treat neurological disorders. The challenge facing drug developers is…
Chinese tech company Alibaba on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model that it claimed surpassed the highly-acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the Qwen 2.5-Max’s release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, points to the…
Robotics is becoming more advanced, and many companies—Tesla, Honda, Xiaomi, Boston Dynamics, Kawasaki and Apptronik, among others—are now starting to develop humanoid robots. The development of humanoid robots is a global affair with major development shifts coming from the U.S., China and Europe. Developing a humanoid robot is an interdisciplinary area that requires many skillsets,…
OpenAI safety researcher Steven Adler announced on Monday he had left OpenAI late last year after four years at the company. In a post shared on X, Adler criticized a race toward AGI that is taking shape between leading AI labs and global superpowers. “An AGI race is a very risky gamble, with huge downside,”…
U.S. officials are looking at the national security implications of the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, while President Donald Trump’s crypto czar said it was possible that intellectual property theft could have been at play. The National Security Council is reviewing the app’s implications, Leavitt said.…
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have officially withdrawn from ECOWAS, the major West African regional alliance. The alliance provides its members with visa-free travel and favorable trade tariffs among other perks. The three nations had announced their intentions to leave the alliance last year, and negotiations then failed to reach an agreement that would incentivize…
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt foreign aid. Now, air groups across the world are panicking as they are directed to obey the almost universal order by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop work. Officials have directed groups to freeze almost all programs that received any part of…
Russian diplomats have arrived in Syria for the first time since Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled by opposition fighters. Al-Assad was a close ally of Moscow and sought refuge in Russia late last year. It is expected that the Russian delegation will meet with Syria’s current leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the foreign minister. Moscow…
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