Kruse's Keys: Read "Burn-In" to See the Implications of AI's Rise

When I read “Ghost Fleet” from writing duo Singer and Cole last year, I found myself saying “this would make a great movie!” (My review of it can be found here). That book, written some five years ago, captured most realistically what a war with China might look like--a subject even more relevant today given the US’ focus on “great power competition.”

With their latest novel/future historical fiction “Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution”, the duo tackles a future in which AI, drones and robotics have continued their current development trajectory to the point where they’ve consumed every aspect of American life. Unfortunately, these “developments” have left gaping vulnerabilities within the US infrastructure that are exploited by a group of homegrown terrorists.

The term “burn-in” was first used in the late 60’s with the rise of computing meaning “the continuous operation of a device (such as a computer) as a test for defects or failure prior to putting it to use.” The authors use AI “to mean the capability of a machine to imitate, match, or surpass an intelligent human behavior or task with “intelligent” defined as able to function appropriately and with foresight in its environment.” These definitions are particularly useful when applied to the convergence of AI and robotics as the authors show with the partnership between the FBI agent and her prototype robot partner as they battle a series of devastating terrorist attacks. From a purely thriller/action perspective, the novel moves quickly and keeps the pages turning but its real intent is to prompt the reader to think through the implications of what this “rise of the machines” really means--after all as the main character notes: “Machines were built on assumptions that meant one thing in a lab and another in a narrow alley reeking of dog shit and gunpowder.” Ultimately, this book shows that similar assumptions are made with regards to AI and robotics that mean one thing when “the good guys” (i.e., the USG) have them but can mean something altogether different when they fall into the hands of maligned actors.

Key Quotes:

She held out her hand, and as the two shook, Richter added with a wry smile, “And thank you for your service.” To another vet, it was as big a “Fuck You” as could be said.
Page: 48

“TAMS,” Modi said. “Tell Agent Noritz what a ‘burn-in’ is.” “A burn-in is defined as ‘the continuous operation of a device, such as a computer, as a test for defects or failure prior to putting it to use,’” answered the machine.
Page: 49

What an AI system can bring to an agent are the very same things it brought to a soldier in the field or a stock trader on Wall Street: machine-speed collection, collation, and analysis of information. It isn’t about replacing, but freeing up the human. Think of it not as artificial intelligence but augmented intelligence.
Page: 54

Automation had always seemed a problem just for truck drivers or factory workers, until suddenly it wasn’t.23 It turned out that not even a Yale Law degree could compete with the algorithms.
Page: 94

“That’s actually it—facing an adversary is not just what makes an AI more useful in the real world, but it’s also how the machine itself becomes more intelligent.” “A revolution from evolution.”
Page: 105

DARPA’s old motto from its days dominating the world of information: Scientia Est Potentia, Latin for “Knowledge Is Power.” Like so much else, they’d actually gotten it wrong. Back in 1655, Hobbes had explained the true intent of the translation: “The end of knowledge is power . . . Lastly, the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action, or thing to be done.”
Page: 109

Machines were built on assumptions that meant one thing in a lab and another in a narrow alley reeking of dog shit and gunpowder.

Key References (basically many of the author's footnotes arranged by three subjects):

History/Foreign Policy/Culture
Robotics/Drone/Weapons
AI/ General Technology

History/Foreign Policy/Culture:

Deep Dream Generator. Accessed July 23, 2019. https://deepdreamgenerator.com/#gallery

David T. Zabecki, “The Greatest German General No One Ever Heard Of.” Historynet, May 12, 2008. https://www.historynet.com/the-greatest-german-general-no-one-ever-heard-of.htm

Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” The Atlantic, July/August 2012. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/

John Ismay, “Stargazing in a War Zone.” New York Times, September 12, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/magazine/stargazing-war-zone.html

Leela Jacinto, “Turkey’s Coup Brought to You via Plotters’ WhatsApp Posts.” France24, July 25, 2016. https://www.france24.com/en/20160725-turkey-coup-whatsapp-plotters-erdogan-media

Fathali M. Moghaddam, “The Staircase to Terrorism: A Psychological Exploration.” American Psychologist 60(2) (February–March 2005): 161–69. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.60.2.161

Jeffrey Lewis, “The EMPire Strikes Back.” Foreign Policy, May 24, 2013. https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/24/the-empire-strikes-back/

Adam Janofsky, “Federal Researchers Simulate Power Grid Cyberattack, Find Holes in Response Plan.” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-researchers-simulate-power-grid-cyberattack-find-holes-in-response-plan-1541785202

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program manager, interview by Peter W. Singer, Washington, DC, April 30, 2019 7. Shane Harris, “New Zealand Attack Exposes How Little the U.S. and Its Allies Share Intelligence on Domestic Terrorism Threats.” Washington Post, March 16, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-zealand-attack-exposes-how-little-the-us-and-its-allies-share-intelligence-on-domestic-terror-threats/2019/03/16/42c14d9c-4744-11e9-8aab-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html

Peter W. Singer, “National Security Pros, It’s Time to Talk About Right-Wing Extremism.” Defense One, February 28, 2018. https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2018/02/national-security-pros-its-time-talk-about-right-wing-extremism/146319/

Steve Haruch, “Why Corporate Executives Talk About ‘Opening Their Kimonos.’” NPR.org, November 2, 2014. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/11/02/360479744/why-corporate-executives-talk-about-opening-their-kimonos

Ghiselaine Vu-Han, “Perfecting the Phosphorus Process.” MIT-The Tech, March 8, 2018. https://chemistry.mit.edu/chemistry-news/perfecting-the-phosphorus-process/

Paul Reynolds, “White Phosphorous: Weapon on the Edge.” BBC, November 16, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4442988.stm

P. W. Singer and August Cole, “How to Write About World War III.” The Atlantic, June 30, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/06/ghost-fleet-world-war-III/397301/

See also J. Furman Daniel III and Paul Musgrave, “Synthetic Experiences: How Popular Culture Matters for Images of International Relations.” International Studies Quarterly, Volume 61, Issue 3, September 2017 (pages 503–16). https://academic.oup.com/isq/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/isq/sqx053/4616603

“Why It’s Worth Reading Crazy-Sounding Scenarios About the Future,” The Economist, July 6, 2019. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/07/06/why-its-worth-reading-crazy-sounding-scenarios-about-the-future

Jade Fell, “Hacking Through the Years: A Brief History of Cyber Crime.” Engineering and Technology, March 13, 2017. https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/03/hacking-through-the-years-a-brief-history-of-cyber-crime/

P. W. Singer and Allan Friedman, CyberSecurity and CyberWar: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 47–49. Panayotis Vryonis, “Explaining Public-Key Cryptography to Non-Geeks.” Medium.com, August 27, 2013. https://medium.com/@vrypan/explaining-public-key-cryptography-to-non-geeks-f0994b3c2d5

Patrick Sawer, “The Unsung Genius Who Secured Britain’s Computer Defences and Paved the Way for Safe Online Shopping”. The Telegraph, March 11, 2016. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/12191473/The-unsung-genius-who-secured-Britains-computer-defences-and-paved-the-way-for-safe-online-shopping.html

Danny Yadron, “Iranian Hackers Infiltrated New York Dam in 2013.” Wall Street Journal, December 20, 2015. https://www.wsj.com/articles/iranian-hackers-infiltrated-new-york-dam-in-2013-1450662559

Sarah Wynn, “Water Turns Purple Overnight in Ohio Town.” ABC6onyourside.com, June 4, 2019. https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/water-turns-purple-overnight-in-ohio-town

Merrit Kennedy, “A Siberian River Has Mysteriously Turned Blood Red.” NPR, September 8, 2016. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/08/493139519/a-siberian-river-has-mysteriously-turned-blood-red

Alison Gopnik, “A Generational Divide in the Uncanny Valley.” Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-generational-divide-in-the-uncanny-valley-1154713871

Freegan.info, “Freegan Philosophy.” Accessed May 23, 2019. https://freegan.info/what-is-a-freegan/freegan-philosophy/

Tom Bateman, “Police Warning After Drug Traffickers’ Cyber-Attack.” BBC News, October 16, 2013. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24539417

Heather Pemberton Levy, “Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Predictions for 2017 and Beyond: Surviving the Storm Winds of Digital Disruption https://www.forbes.com/sites/gartnergroup/2016/11/15/gartners-top-10-strategic-predictions-for-2017-and-beyond/

P. W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. https://www.amazon.com/LikeWar-Weaponization-P-W-Singer/dp/1328695743

Ritika Trikha, “The History of ‘Hello, World.’” HackerRank, April 21, 2015. https://blog.hackerrank.com/the-history-of-hello-world/

History.com, “1932: Bonus Marchers Evicted by U.S. Army.” February 9, 2010. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bonus-marchers-evicted-by-u-s-army

Lara Seligman, “In Overflowing Syrian Refugee Camps, Extremism Takes Root.” Foreign Policy, July 29, 2019. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/29/in-overflowing-syrian-refugee-camps-extremism-takes-root-syria-bashar-assad-islamic-state-isis/


See also Maria Konnikova, “Lessons from Sherlock Holmes Pt. I: Paying Attention to What Isn’t There.” Big Think, July 21, 2011. https://bigthink.com/artful-choice/lessons-from-sherlock-holmes-pti-paying-attention-to-what-isnt-there

Robotics/Drone/Weapons:

Selfdefense.com, “Stun Gun Batons.” Accessed July 27, 2019. https://www.srselfdefense.com/stun-gun-batons/

Adam Clark Estes, “The 3D Printed Gun Threat Is Getting Weird and Scary.” Gizmodo, June 20, 2019. https://gizmodo.com/the-3d-printed-gun-threat-is-getting-weird-and-scary-1835694478

Kathy Fessler, “What You Need to Know About Gunshot Detection Technology.” Security101 blog, November 28, 2018. https://www.security101.com/blog/gunshot-detection-technology

Andrew Liszewski, “This Clip-on Handgun Attachment Makes Bullets Non-Lethal.” Gizmodo, September 12, 2015. https://gizmodo.com/this-clip-on-handgun-attachment-makes-bullets-non-letha-1730039256

Noah Shachtman, “Israeli ‘Auto Kill Zone’ Towers Locked and Loaded.” Wired, December 5, 2008. https://www.wired.com/2008/12/israeli-auto-ki/

Paul Scharre, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War. New York: W. W. Norton, 2019 2. US Army Mad Scientist Laboratory, “An Appropriate Level of Trust. . . .” May 29, 2018. https://madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/56-an-appropriate-level-of-trust/

George Leopold, “Air Force Tests ‘Attritable’ Weapons.” Electronic Engineering Times, March 22, 2019. https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334456#

Donovan Alexander, “New Self-Aware Robotic Arm Can Recognize and Repair Itself.” Interesting Engineering, February 3, 2019. https://interestingengineering.com/new-self-aware-robotic-arm-can-recognize-and-repair-itself

Leon Cook, “New Full-Color Night Vision could revolutionize how troops operate in the dark. https://www.stripes.com/news/us/new-full-color-night-vision-could-revolutionize-troops-ability-to-operate-in-dark-1.564782

Department of Homeland Security, “Radar Systems for Through-the-Wall Surveillance.” July 22, 2016. https://www.dhs.gov/publication/radar-systems-through-wall-surveillance

The 500-Volt Shotgun. Photograph, 600 x 373. Accessed June 26, 2019. https://d1w116sruyx1mf.cloudfront.net/ee-assets/channels/cdd_default/130808image2.jpg

Patrick Tucker, “This Formula Predicts Soldier Firepower in 2050.” Defense One, September 17, 2019. https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/09/formula-predicts-soldier-firepower-2050/159931/

Zeo Kleinman, “Ocado Trials Fruit-picking Robot.” BBC, January 31, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38808925

“Strawberry Robots Forever.” @Mashable, July, 1, 2019. https://twitter.com/mashable/status/1145725499806760962

Sticky Foam Gun. Photograph, 460 x 318. Accessed June 26, 2019. https://futures.armyscitech.com/ex4/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/STICKY-FOAM-1_v2.jpg

“This Is What Your Next MOPP Suit Could Look Like.” We Are The Mighty, September 19, 2016. https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-is-what-your-next-mopp-suit-could-look-like

Kashmir Hill, “Jamming GPS Signals Is Illegal, Dangerous, Cheap, and Easy.” Gizmodo, July 24, 2017. https://gizmodo.com/jamming-gps-signals-is-illegal-dangerous-cheap-and-e-1796778955

“Industry Day for the Advanced Targeting and Lethality Automated System (ATLAS) Program—W909MY-19-R-C004.” Federal Contract Opportunity, February 11, 2019. https://govtribe.com/opportunity/federal-contract-opportunity/industry-day-for-the-advanced-targeting-and-lethality-automated-system-atlas-program-w909my19rc004

Patrick Howell O’Neill, “Drones Emerge as New Dimension in Cyberwar.” CyberScoop, February 5, 2018. https://www.cyberscoop.com/apolloshield-septier-drones-uav-cyberwar-hacking/

“Teenager Hacks Drone to Prove Cyber Attack Risk.” Reuters, May 3, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/video/2019/05/03/teenager-hacks-drone-to-prove-cyber-atta-id5454689

Fortune Magazine, “Drone Swarms Are the New Fireworks in China.” YouTube, June 14, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbCR8mOPkuo

Jeffrey Lin and Peter W. Singer, “This People-Moving Drone Has Completed More Than 1,000 Test Flights.” Popular Science, February 8, 2018. https://www.popsci.com/ehang-passenger-carrying-drone/

IRobot 510 PackBot. Photograph, 800 x 550. Accessed June 26, 2019. https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/imgs/irobot-510-packbot.jpg

Alistair M. C. Isaac and Will Bridewell, “White Lies on Silver Tongues: Why Robots Need to Be Able to Deceive (And How).” In Patrick Lin, Ryan Jenkins, and Keith Abney (eds.), Robot Ethics 2.0, New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. Available at https://www.nrl.navy.mil/itd/aic/sites/www.nrl.navy.mil.itd.aic/files/pdfs/chapter_oso-9780190652951-chapter-11.pdf

Kak, “A Three-Stage Quantum Cryptography Protocol.” Foundations of Physics Letters, vol. 19 (3) (2006): 293–96 17. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL 1. Zachary Tomlinson, “15 Medical Robots That Are Changing the World.” Interesting Engineering, October 11, 2018. https://interestingengineering.com/15-medical-robots-that-are-changing-the-world

“Oldest Literary Reference to Automata, Computers, Robots.” Abcdunlimited.com. Accessed July 23, 2019. http://abcdunlimited.com/liberty/refs/aristotle.html

As quoted in Sarah Kessler, “The Optimist’s Guide to the Robot Apocalypse.” Nextgov, March 9, 2017. http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2017/03/optimists-guide-robot-apocalypse/136028/?oref=nextgov_today_nl

Peter Holley, “Baristas Beware: A Robot That Makes Gourmet Cups of Coffee Has Arrived.” Washington Post, March 22, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/03/22/baristas-beware-robot-that-makes-gourmet-cups-coffee-has-arrived/

Kirstin Korosec, “In Ford’s Future Two-Legged Robots and Self-Driving Cars Could Team Up on Deliveries.” TechCrunch, May 22, 2019. https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/21/in-fords-future-two-legged-robots-and-self-driving-cars-could-team-up-on-deliveries/

Peter Holley, “The Technology 202: Drones in Aisle 5? Grocery Stores Are Becoming Unusual Hotbeds of Innovation.” Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-technology-202/2019/05/03/the-technology-202-drones-in-aisle-5-grocery-stores-are-becoming-unusual-hotbeds-of-innovation/5ccb371c1ad2e506550b2f0d/

“It is not human jobs that are at risk from the rise of the robots. It is humanity itself.” Direct quote. Robert Skidelsky, “Is AI the Road to Serfdom?” Asia Times, February 22, 2019. https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/02/opinion/is-ai-the-road-to-serfdom/

Shivali Best, “The Ambulance Drone That Could Save Your Life: Video Reveals How Flying Robots May Someday Carry the Injured to Hospital.” Daily Mail, January 3, 2017. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4084008/Incredible-video-shows-flying-AMBULANCE-speed-emergency-support.html

NASA.gov, “Robonaut 2, the Next Generation Dexterous Robot.” July 15, 2010. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/robonaut_photos.html

Kate Darling, “Why We Have an Emotional Connection to Robots.” TED Talks, September 2018. https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_darling_why_we_have_an_emotional_connection_to_robots?language=en

P. W. Singer, Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century. New York: Penguin, 2009, p. 337. https://www.amazon.com/Wired-War-Robotics-Revolution-Conflict/dp/0143116843

I. Orha and Stefan Oniga. “Assistance and Telepresence Robots: A Solution for Elderly People.” Carpathian Journal of Electronic and Computer Engineering 5 (2012): 87–90. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235417999_Assistance_and_telepresence_robots_a_solution_for_elderly_people

Tiffany Jeung, “Watch How the World’s Fastest Robot Cat Learns Feline Tricks.” Inverse.com, November 12, 2018. https://www.inverse.com/article/50754-nybble-is-the-fastest-robot-cat

Boston Dynamics, YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/BostonDynamics

Adam Conner-Simons and Rachel Gordon, “ ‘Superhero’ Robot Wears Different Outfits for Different Tasks.” MIT News, September 27, 2017. http://news.mit.edu/2017/superhero-robot-wears-different-outfits-different-tasks-0927

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Robot Origami: Robot Self-folds, Walks, and Completes Tasks.” YouTube, June 11, 2015. Video, 2:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYz7g-qLjs

Arthur Holland Michel, “Amazon Delivery Drone Patents.” Center for the Study of the Drone, September 2017. https://dronecenter.bard.edu/files/2017/09/CSD-Amazons-Drone-Patents-1.pdf

Nick Lavars, “Robotic Leg Leans on Animal Evolution to Teach Itself to Walk.” New Atlas, March 12, 2019. https://newatlas.com/robotic-leg-teaches-walk/58817/

James Vincent, “Boston Dynamics’ Robots Are Preparing to Leave the Lab—But Is the World Ready?” Boston Dynamics’ robots are preparing to leave the lab — is the world ready?

Jeremy Hsu, “Out of the Way, Human! Delivery Robots Want a Share of Your Sidewalk.” Scientific American, February 19, 2019. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/out-of-the-way-human-delivery-robots-want-a-share-of-your-sidewalk/

Amazon.com, “Amazon Mechanical Turk: Overview.” https://edtech.pomona.edu/tools/amazon-mechanical-turk/#:~:text=Amazon%20Mechanical%20Turk%20(MTurk)%20is,are%20currently%20unable%20to%20do.

AI/ General Technology:

Vlad Savov, “Nubia’s Wearable Smartphone Is a Preview of Our Flexible OLED Future.” The Verge, September 4, 2018. https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/4/17817416/wearable-smartphone-nubia-alpha-flexible-oled-ifa-2018

Zachariah Yuzon, “Nubia’s Alpha Wearable Is the Craziest Gadget at MWC 2019.” Mashable, February 28, 2019. Video, 00:50. https://mashable.com/video/nubia-alpha/#kFH57ndsemqR

Peter Diamandis, “Convergence in VR/AR: 5 Anticipated Breakthroughs to Watch.” LinkedIn. May 6, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/convergence-vrar-5-anticipated-breakthroughs-watch-peter-h-diamandis/

Ina Fried, “Preparing for a Future of Augmented RealityThe future of augmented reality will raise fresh online privacy concerns

Amanda Lentino, “This Chinese Facial-Recognition Start-up Can Identify a Person in Seconds.” CNBC.com, May 16, 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/16/this-chinese-facial-recognition-start-up-can-id-a-person-in-seconds.html

Direct quote from China Electronics Technology Corp. presentation. Chris Buckley and Paul Mozur, “How China Uses High-Tech Surveillance to Subdue Minorities.” New York Times, May 22, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/world/asia/china-surveillance-xinjiang.html

Julien Happich, “The Future of Video Surveillance: HD, Hyperspectral and Stereoscopic.” EeNews Europe, February 5, 2014. http://www.eenewseurope.com/news/future-video-surveillance-hd-hyperspectral-and-stereoscopic

Elon Musk’s Boring Company gets Hyperloop permit for NYC to DC
https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/elon-musks-boring-company-gets-hyperloop-permit-for-nyc-to-dc

CV Dazzle. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://cvdazzle.com/
James Vincent, “Google’s AI Thinks This Turtle Looks Like a Gun, Which Is a Problem.” The Verge, November 2, 2017. https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/2/16597276/google-ai-image-attacks-adversarial-turtle-rifle-3d-printed

Guy Cramer, “Quantum Stealth; The Invisible Military Becomes a Reality.” HyperStealth, October 19, 2012. http://www.hyperstealth.com/Quantum-Stealth

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, “Hackers Behind WannaCry Cashed Out Bitcoin While No One Was Watching.” Vice, August 3, 2017. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qvky75/hackers-behind-wannacry-cashed-out-bitcoin-while-no-one-was-watching

MΔDΞRΔS, “Improvements Like These Have Interesting Implications.” Twitter, March 9, 2019. pic.twitter.com/ZywUM4XsBn

Greg Synek, “Gait Recognition Tech Can Identify People Even with Their Backs Turned.” TechSpot, November 7, 2018. https://www.techspot.com/news/77298-gait-recognition-tech-can-identify-people-even-their.html

Parmy Olson, Image Recognition Technology Not as Secure as We Think, Image-Recognition Technology May Not Be as Secure as We Think

Angela Chen, “Inmates in Finland Are Training AI as Part of Prison Labor.” The Verge, March 28, 2019. https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/28/18285572/prison-labor-finland-artificial-intelligence-data-tagging-vainu

AI is an incredibly contested term, with at least 70 different definitions according to one study (Shane Legg and Marcus Hutter, “A Collection of Definitions of Intelligence,” IDSIA report, 2007. https://arxiv.org/pdf/0706.3639.pdf). It has come to encompass anything from a “narrow” or “weak” task of human intelligence being performed by a machine to one requiring “general” or even “super” intelligence. It is often expanded to include everything from “general” or even “super-intelligence” where a machine is trained to do a task, to multi-agent systems and artificial neural networks to create more expansive deep-learning, where the machine operates in ways akin to the human brain, to “neuromorphic chips,” which allow individual chips to do massive calculations, enabling further supercomputing breakthroughs and pushing intelligence outward to individual systems or even sensors. The US military has officially defined AI as “the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence—for example, recognizing patterns, learning from experience, drawing conclusions, making predictions, or taking action—whether digitally or as the smart software behind autonomous physical systems” (US Department of Defense, “Summary of the 2018 Department of Defense Artificial Intelligence Strategy,” available at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Feb/12/2002088963/-1/-1/1/SUMMARY-OF-DOD-AI-STRATEGY.PDF). For our general purposes, we use it in broad terms to mean the capability of a machine to imitate, match, or surpass an intelligent human behavior or task with “intelligent” defined as able to function appropriately and with foresight in its environment.

History of Ideas and Achievements (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), and Peter Stone et al., “Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030.” One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence: Report of the 2015–2016 Study Panel, Stanford University, September 2016. http://ai100.stanford.edu/2016-report

Brady Moore and Chris Sauceda, “The Guy Behind the Guy: AI as the Indispensable Marshal.” US Army Mad Scientist Laboratory, February 21, 2019. https://madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/122-the-guy-behind-the-guy-ai-as-the-indispensable-marshal/

Dave Gershgorn, “Companies Are on the Hook if Their Hiring Algorithms Are Biased.” Quartz, October 22, 2018. https://qz.com/1427621/companies-are-on-the-hook-if-their-hiring-algorithms-are-biased/

McKinsey Global Institute, “The Future of Work in America.” July 2019. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-in-america-people-and-places-today-and-tomorrow

Charlotte Jee, “Amazon’s System for Tracking Its Warehouse Workers Can Automatically Fire Them.” MIT Technology Review, April 26, 2019. https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613434/amazons-system-for-tracking-its-warehouse-workers-can-automatically-fire-them

Greg Bensinger, “ ‘Mission Racer’: How Amazon Turned the Tedium of Warehouse Work into a Game.” Washington Post, May 21, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/21/missionracer-how-amazon-turned-tedium-warehouse-work-into-game

Suren Ramasubbu, “Biological & Psychological Reasons for Social Media Addiction.” Huffington Post, March 10, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biological-psychological-reasons-for-social-media

Andrew Myers, “Stanford Engineers Make Editing Video as Easy as Editing Text.” Stanford News, June 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2019/06/05/edit-video-editing-text/

Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo, “The Wrong Kind of AI? Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Labor Demand.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, March 5, 2019. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3359482

James Beniger, The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989. Elsa Kania, “Battlefield Singularity: Artificial Intelligence, Military Revolution, and China’s Future”. https://books.google.com/books/about/Battlefield_Singularity.html?id=E2R-tQEACAAJ

Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb, Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2018, p. 213 https://www.amazon.com/Prediction-Machines-Economics-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1633695670

“Technology is not destiny.” Direct quote. Conor McKay, Ethan Pollack, and Alastair Fitzpayne, “Automation and a Changing Economy: The Case for Action.” The Aspen Institute, April 2, 2019. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/automation-and-a-changing-economy-the-case-for-action




Prajwal Paudyal, “Should AI Explain Itself? Or Should We Design Explainable AI So That It Doesn’t Have To.” Towards Data Science. Accessed June 28, 2019. https://towardsdatascience.com/should-ai-explain-itself-or-should-we-design-explainable-ai-so-that-it-doesnt-have-to-90e75bb6089e




Julien Happich, “The Future of Video Surveillance: HD, Hyperspectral and Stereoscopic.” EeNews Europe, February 5, 2014. http://www.eenewseurope.com/news/future-video-surveillance-hd-hyperspectral-and-stereoscopic




C. E. Shannon, J. McCarthy, M. L. Minsky, and N. Rochester, “A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence.” Dartmouth College, August 31, 1955. http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/history/dartmouth/dartmouth.html

Larry Greenemeir, “20 Years After Deep Blue: How AI Has Advanced Since Conquering Chess.” Scientific American, June 2, 2017. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/20-years-after-deep-blue-how-ai-has-advanced-since-conquering-chess/

DeepMind, “AlphaGo Zero: Starting from scratch.” YouTube, October 18, 2017. Video, 2:13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXlM99xPQC8

DeepMind, “AlphaGo.” https://deepmind.com/research/alphago/

Elsa Kania, “Chinese Military Innovation in Artificial Intelligence.” Hearing of the US-China Economic and… https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/June%207%20Hearing_Panel%201_Elsa%20Kania_Chinese%20Military%20Innovation%20in%20Artificial%20Intelligence.pdf

Jamie Condliffe, “A New Artificial Synapse Is Faster and More Efficient Than Ones in Your Brain.” MIT Technology Review, January 29, 2018. https://www.technologyreview.com/f/610089/a-new-artificial-synapse-is-faster-and-more-efficient-than-ones-in-your-brain/

Andrew Freedman, “Meet Aurora, Soon to Be the First ‘Exascale’ Supercomputer in the U.S.” Axios, March 18, 2019. https://www.axios.com/us-to-get-its-first-ultra-powerful-exascale-supercomputer-015cc201-0660-430f-9bf2-83e5ac4edcad.html

Heather Roff, “How Understanding Animals Can Help Us Make the Most of Artificial Intelligence.” The Conversation, March 30, 2017. https://theconversation.com/how-understanding-animals-can-help-us-make-the-most-of-artificial-intelligence-74742

Seth Borenstein, “No AI in Humor: R2-D2 Walks into a Bar, Doesn’t Get the Joke.” AP News, March 31, 2019. https://www.apnews.com/bae71c3bef8145ecaaa84bca24d77430

Gao Huang, Zhuang Liu, Laurens van der Maaten, and Kilian Q. Weinberger, “Densely Connected Convolutional Networks.” Cornell University, version v5, January 28, 2018. https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.06993

Paul Daugherty and H. James Wilson, Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2018. https://hbr.org/product/human-machine-reimagining-work-in-the-age-of-ai/10163-HBK-ENG

David Z. Morris, “Nearly Half of All Retail Jobs Could Be Lost to Automation Within 10 Years.” Fortune, May 21, 2017. http://fortune.com/2017/05/21/automation-retail-job-losses/

Bernard Marr, “Artificial Intelligence Has a Problem with Bias, Here’s How to Tackle. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/01/29/3-steps-to-tackle-the-problem-of-bias-in-artificial-intelligence/#51dc72d27a12

Patrick Tucker, “Here Come AI-Enabled Cameras Meant to Sense Crime Before It Occurs.” Defense One, April 24, 2019. https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/04/ai-enabled-cameras-detect-crime-it-occurs-will-soon-invade-physical-world/156502/

Manuel Blum, “How to Exchange (Secret) Keys.” ACM Transactions on Computer Systems 1 (2) (May 1983): 175–93. https://doi.org/10.1145%2F357360.357368

John Miller and David Mainor, “WannaCry Ransomware Campaign: Threat Details and Risk Management.” FireEye, May 15, 2017. https://www.fireeye.com/blog/products-and-services/2017/05/wannacry-ransomware-campaign.html

Patrick Clare, “Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus.” 2014. https://vimeo.com/25118844

“What Is Selenium, and Why Should You Care?” Appalachian Mountain Advocates, June 15, 2011. http://www.appalmad.org/2011/06/15/what-is-selenium-and-why-should-you-care-2/

M. L. Cummings, “Automation Bias in Intelligent Time Critical Decision Support Systems.” American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Accessed May 22, 2019. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.91.2634&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Theoriz, “Mixed Reality RnD Test 002.” Accessed August 30, 2019. https://www.theoriz.com/portfolio/mixed-reality-project/

Caroline Holmes, “Robust Future Changes in Temperature Variability Under Greenhouse Gas Forcing and the Relationship with Thermal Advection.” Journal of Climate, March 15, 2016. https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00735.1

Christianna Reedy, “Graphene That Changes Color When It Cracks Could Literally Save Lives.” Futurism, April 13, 2017. https://futurism.com/graphene-that-changes-color-when-it-cracks-could-literally-save-lives

Victor L. Pushparaj et al., “Flexible Energy Storage Devices Based on Nanocomposite Paper.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, August 21, 2007. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1959422/


Jack Corrigan, “ ‘Siri, Watch That Guy’: Pentagon Seeks AI That Can Track Someone Across a City.” Defense One, May 13, 2019. https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/05/iarpa-needs-more-training-data-video-surveillance-algorithms/156955/?oref=DefenseOneTCO

“All Terrain Surveillance Robot.” Wisdom Land, March 7, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-YCHQK4ew
Bryn Farnsworth, “Facial Action Coding System (FACS)—A Visual Guidebook.” Imotions, August 18, 2019. https://imotions.com/blog/facial-action-coding-system/

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, “Broad Agency Announcement: Narrative NetworkDARPA-BAA-12-03.” October 7, 2011. Available at https://robo-hunter.com/uploads/files/560c1c5fe87df.pdf

Matthew Cox, “Army Studies Electrical Brain Zaps for Enhancing Soldier Performance.” Military.com, April 25, 2019. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/04/25/army-studies-electrical-brain-zaps-enhancing-soldier-performance.html

Josh Constine, “Facebook Is Building Brain-Computer Interfaces for Typing and Skin-Hearing.” TechCrunch, April 19, 2017. https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/19/facebook-brain-interface

“Hashcat Tutorial for Beginners.” InfoSec Institute, April 9, 2018. https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/hashcat-tutorial-beginners/#gref

Steve Ranger, “IoT Security Crackdown: Stop Using Default Passwords and Guarantee Updates, Tech Companies Told.” ZDNet, May 1, 2019. https://www.zdnet.com/article/iot-security-crackdown-stop-using-default-passwords-and-guarantee-updates-tech-companies-told/

Jeff Stone, “Newly Reported Flaws in Cameras, Locks Add to Scrutiny of Smart-Home Security.” CyberScoop, July 2, 2019. https://www.cyberscoop.com/smart-home-vulnerabilities-netgear-zipato

Sarah Kessler, “AMAZON: This Company Built One of the World’s Most Efficient Warehouses by Embracing Chaos.” Quartz. Accessed July 23, 2019. https://classic.qz.com/perfect-company-2/1172282/this-company-built-one-of-the-worlds-most-efficient-warehouses-by-embracing-chaos/

Stefan Holtel, “From Computer to Centaur—Cognitive Tools Turn the Rules Upside Down.” KM World, January 30, 2015. https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10152

Nick Bostrom, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2014. Nick Bostrom, “Superintelligence.” Talks at Google. YouTube, September 22, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pywF6ZzsghI

Joshua Gans, “AI and the Paperclip Problem.” VoxEU.org, June 10, 2018. https://voxeu.org/article/ai-and-paperclip-problem

Ben Fritz, “Startup Backed by Spielberg and Studios Seeks to Create VR Experiences for Malls.” Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/startup-backed-by-spielberg-and-studios-seeks-to-create-vr-experiences-for-malls-148699080

Tech Insider, “This Sea-Craft Looks Like a Plane, Has a Car’s Engine, and Docks Like a Boat.” YouTube, March 9, 2018. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-sWokqiVHw

Jackson Barnett, “Pentagon Partners with Singapore to Develop AI for Disaster Response.” FedScoop, July 1, 2019. https://www.fedscoop.com/welcome/?jaic-working-with-singapore-on-ai&id=32878

Giancarlo Fiorella, “A Beginner’s Guide to Flight Tracking.” Bellingcat, October 15, 2019. https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/10/15/a-beginners-guide-to-flight-tracking/

James Vincent, “Welcome to the Automated Warehouse of the Future.” The Verge, May 8, 2018. https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/8/17331250/automated-warehouses-jobs-ocado-andover-amazon

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, “AI Next campaign.” Accessed July 21, 2019. https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/ai-next-campaign

Sharon Weinberger, The Imagineers of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World. New York: Knopf, 2017. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, “How DARPA Created AI.” DARPATV, December 7, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri5gOjYgLns

Richa Bhatia, “Understanding the Difference Between Symbolic AI & Non Symbolic AI.” Analytics India Magazine (blog), December 27, 2017. https://www.analyticsindiamag.com/understanding-difference-symbolic-ai-non-symbolic-ai/

Paul Miller, “What Is Edge Computing?” The Verge, May 7, 2018. https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/5/7/17327584/edge-computing-cloud-google-microsoft-apple-amazon

Frank Luerweg, “The Internet Knows You Better Than Your Spouse Does.” Scientific American, March 14, 2019. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-internet-knows-you-better-than-your-spouse-does/

Behnood Gholami, Wassim M. Haddad, and James M. Bailey, “AI Could Provide Moment-by-Moment Nursing for a Hospital’s Sickest. https://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/ai-could-provide-momentbymoment-nursing-for-a-hospitals-sickest-patients

Matt Turek, “Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI).” Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Accessed July 6, 2019. https://www.darpa.mil/program/explainable-artificial-intelligence

Molly Kovite, “I, Black Box: Explainable Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of Human Deliberative Processes.” War on the Rocks, July 5, 2019. https://warontherocks.com/2019/07/i-black-box-explainable-artificial-intelligence-and-the-limits-of-human-deliberative-processes/

I heart Lufthansa: Free coffee in Munich Airport Terminal G

At this point I haven't been to America in more than 1.5 years so maybe there are airlines that do this nowadays in the States but I really can't picture Delta or American airlines offering up free coffee to the plebeian masses--one would have to be safely ensconced in the privileged cocoon of a business class lounge to have the rarified opportunity to quaff free beverages at an airline's expense.

Munich airport is all those things you would expect of Germany--clean and efficient and full of pretzels.  Most notably, the airport there is an airport of happy places for me.  A favorite happy place: reading a newspaper with a cup of hot coffee.  Voila: Lufthansa's Terminal G at Munich Airport--International newspapers and a wide array of coffee and tea choices.  I was partial to the mochachino with an extra shot of expresso.

Aside from the incredible free coffee at the terminal--Lufthansa's in-flight service is top notch--I mean they serve cognac with dessert on the JNB-FRA flight.

They make it easy to say I love Lufthansa.

K

FAO Pro Tip #2 or You're only a handshake away

I posted my first FAO Pro tip here--the ever essential VAPORUB.  

Of near equal importance are these anti-bacterial wipes: Wet Ones Antibacterial Hand Wipes Singles, 24-Count (Pack of 5)   These should be standard issue when you in-process through AFRICOM (or whatever your COCOM) on the way to the continent.  I wish I had had more common sense my first six months on the job and used these religiously as my darling and wise wife counseled.  

As a FAO you shake more hands than you'd ever imagine--couple this with myriad receptions that favor finger foods and you have a lethal intestinal combination just waiting to erupt.  Nowadays I make sure to always carry a couple of these in my pocket to prevent another night curled up in anguish on the bathroom tile (see future blog post "Ode to a toilet bowl").

In this era of fiscal incertitude, the Department of Defense could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost workdays by spending $60 to buy a two-year supply of Wet Wipes for every FAO headed downrange.   If that prevents even one sick day during a two year tour they would pay for themselves many times over.  

Or, you could just click the image below and buy yourself a five-pack for $11 that will last you a year.  

LINKS:

FAO PRO Tip #1 -- Ode to VAPORUB

FAO Pro Tip #3 -- There's a reason NASA missions pack duct tape

SECNAV Message Endorsing Value of the USN/USMC Foreign Area Officer Program

SECNAV Message Endorsing Value of the USN/USMC Foreign Area Officer Program

Last week the Secretary of the Navy (the Honorable Ray Mabus) released a message expressing his personal commitment to the USN and USMC FAO Program.  This is a HUGE deal for the FAO community and an important step for our future.

I've pasted the message below with some of my edits (I made some minor edits for readability prior to the message body (any additions are in italics), emboldened some portions, and added the hyperlinks).  

My takeaways first:

FAOs value within the Navy/Marine Corps hinges heavily on their LREC expertise. Therefore maintaining not just proficiency but a growing expertise in each of the three categories is paramount.  The challenge then is how to do so and what expertise means (how to quantify) for language, regional expertise and culture. 

Language: Able to plan and execute operations with foreign militaries and communicate strategic messaging throughout operations

Regional Expertise: Sophisticated understanding of the international environment

Culture (i.e. people--relationships): Able to facilitate close and continuing diplomatic interaction with foreign governments and defense leaders

FAO's past and continued impact:

Tactical: Planning and executing operations

Attaches: Representatives of service community leadership abroad

Security Cooperation Officers (SCOs): foreign assistance (IMET etc.) and theater security cooperation portfolios

Overseas Staffs: Influence international engagement and employment of U.S. forces

Beltway Staffs: Advise senior leadership

The viability of any community is heavily influenced by its flag officers (numerically and positionally):

"I AM COMMITTED TO ENSURING PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS INCLUDE COMPETITIVE CAREER ADVANCEMENT FOR FAOS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE AT THE GENERAL/FLAG OFFICER RANK."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DATE: 13 MAR 13 
FROM: SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
TO: ALL THE NAVY
INFO: COMMANDANT USMC AND CNO 
SUBJ: DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY FOREIGN AREA OFFICER PROGRAMS 

REFERENCES:
DEPSECDEF/20050405:
DODD 1315.17 MILITARY DEPARTMENT FOREIGN AREA OFFICER PROGRAMS
UNSECDEF PERS AND READ/20070928:
DODI 1315.20 MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOREIGN AREA OFFICER PROGRAMS
SECNAV/20130123:

SECNAVINST 1301.7 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY FOREIGN AREA OFFICER PROGRAMS
1.  ADMIRALS, GENERALS, SENIOR EXECUTIVES, SAILORS AND MARINES.
ON 23 JANUARY 2013, PURSUANT TO REFS A AND B, I APPROVED SECRETARY OF THE NAVY (SECNAV) 
INSTRUCTION 1301.7 (REF C), PROVIDING DIRECTION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY (DON) ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINMENT OF NAVY AND MARINE CORPS FOREIGN AREA OFFICER (FAO) 
PROGRAMS.  THE INSTRUCTION UNDERSCORES MY PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO THE HEALTH AND 
FUTURE OF BOTH PROGRAMS AND THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF THIS ELITE CADRE OF LANGUAGE, 
REGIONAL EXPERTISE AND CULTURE (LREC) SPECIALISTS TO THE DEPARTMENT.  I DESIGNATED THE 
DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY MR. BOB MARTINAGE (PLANS, POLICY, OVERSIGHT AND INTEGRATION) AS MY EXECUTIVE AGENT TO IMPLEMENT THIS INSTRUCTION.  I WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE A PERSONAL INTEREST IN THESE PROGRAMS.

2.  THE LESSONS OF THE PAST DECADE HAVE TAUGHT US THAT TRUST AND COOPERATION CANNOT BE 
SURGED, AND NEITHER CAN THE LREC SKILLS REQUIRED TO BUILD THESE LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS.  
BUDGET REDUCTIONS AND THE DECREASED AVAILABILITY OF CONVENTIONAL FORCES GLOBALLY 
HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS.  
TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN CURRENT AND FUTURE OPERATIONS, THE DON MUST BE PREPARED TO WORK 
WITH AN EXPANDING NUMBER OF COALITION PARTNERS IN A DIVERSE SET OF GEOPOLITICAL 
CONDITIONS AROUND THE WORLD.  SUCCESS IN THESE OPERATIONS, AND ON THE ASYMMETRIC 
BATTLEFIELDS OF THE FUTURE, REQUIRES SPECIALIZED OFFICERS WITH A SOPHISTICATED 
UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ENVIRONMENT, CAPABLE OF FACILITATING CLOSE 
AND CONTINUOUS MILITARY DIPLOMATIC INTERACTION WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR 
DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENTS.  ONLY THE BEST AND MOST HIGHLY QUALIFIED OFFICERS IN THE NAVY AND 
MARINE CORPS WILL BE SELECTED, EDUCATED, AND TRAINED FOR THIS MISSION.

3.  DURING MY TENURE AS SECNAV, I HAVE OBSERVED FIRSTHAND THE CRITICAL WORK THAT NAVY 
AND MARINE FAOS DO EACH DAY AT SEA, ON THE FRONT LINES, AND AT OUR EMBASSIES AROUND THE 
WORLD.  THE IMPACT OF THESE OFFICERS UPON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY, REAL-WORLD OPERATIONS, AND 
THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE U.S. CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.  ON THE TACTICAL LEVEL, FAOS ARE 
INDISPENSABLE TO THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF OPERATIONS, INCLUDING FACILITATING 
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH LOCAL POPULATIONS, AND LEVERAGING THEIR LREC SKILLS TO 
SHAPE STRATEGIC MESSAGING IN SUPPORT OF THESE OPERATIONS.  AS ATTACHES, FAOS REPRESENT 
MYSELF, THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, AND THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS TO THE 
FOREIGN SERVICE AND TO FOREIGN MILITARIES.  AS SECURITY COOPERATION OFFICERS, FAOS MANAGE 
CRITICAL FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS WITH OUR ALLIES, INCLUDING FOREIGN MILITARY SALES; 
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS; AND THEATER SECURITY 
COOPERATION PORTFOLIOS, WHICH BUILD THE CAPACITY OF OUR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS.  ON THE 
STAFFS OF THE GEOGRAPHIC COMBATANT COMMANDS AND COMPONENT COMMANDS, FAOS 
DIRECTLY INFLUENCE INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND THE STRATEGIC EMPLOYMENT OF OUR 
EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, TO INCLUDE PORT VISITS, JOINT EXERCISES, AND MILITARY-TO-MILITARY 
EXCHANGES.  WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, JOINT STAFF, SERVICE STAFFS, AND THE INTERAGENCY, FAOS PROVIDE UNIQUE POLITICAL-MILITARY EXPERTISE TO SENIOR LEADERS, 
DIRECTLY SHAPING U.S. FOREIGN POLICY.  BOTH SERVICES CAN BE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THE 
TREMENDOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THESE WARRIOR-DIPLOMATS.

4.  THE FUTURE OF THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS FAO PROGRAMS IS STRONG. OVER THE PAST YEAR, THE NAVY INCREASED ITS INVENTORY OF FAOS TO 256 OFFICERS AND CONTINUES TO MATURE TOWARDS FULL OPERATIONAL CAPACITY. THE NAVY'S IMPLEMENTATION OF MILESTONE SCREENING CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN AN ALREADY  ROBUST AND PROVEN FAO CAREER PATH TO FLAG LEVEL.  THE MARINE CORPS HAS ALSO MADE GREAT STRIDES.  COMMAND SELECTION RATES FOR MARINE CORPS FAOS ARE ON PAR WITH THE SERVICE AVERAGE AND PROMOTION RATES ARE HIGHER THAN THE SERVICE AVERAGE.
THESE STATISTICS REFLECT THE COMPETITIVENESS AND RIGOR OF THE FAO SELECTION PROCESS.  I AM COMMITTED TO ENSURING PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS INCLUDE COMPETITIVE CAREER 
ADVANCEMENT FOR FAOS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE AT THE GENERAL/FLAG OFFICER RANK.  
OUR WORK AS SENIOR LEADERS, HOWEVER, IS NOT FINISHED.  I WILL CONTINUE TO RELY UPON THE 
LEADERSHIP OF BOTH SERVICES TO FULLY RESOURCE THESE PROGRAMS, ACTIVELY ENCOURAGE OUR 
BEST OFFICERS TO APPLY, AND ENSURE THAT FAOS ARE BEING UTILIZED IN THE MOST APPROPRIATE 
BILLETS FOR THEIR SKILL SET.  IT IS A TASK THAT I AM CONFIDENT WE WILL ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER.

5.  RELEASED BY RAY MABUS, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

Secretary Ray Mabus

CNO Greenert

Mr. Bob Martinage

General Amos

Link to Message:

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/ALNAVS/ALN2013/ALN13017.txt

Congrats to the Newest Navy FAOs!

Congrats to the Newest Navy FAOs!!

    The June 2012 Lateral Transfer board selected 22 new officers to the FAO community.  For those among them that were aviators they should check out my blog post on losing their flight pay (within 30 days of being selected) as it can be a surprise to lose it all the sudden.

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/03/money-tip-for-naval-aviators-seeking.html

The entire list of selectees is publicly available here.

If anyone has questions on FAO issues please let me know!  And welcome to the community!!

Thoughts on a US Response to an Alien Signal

BONUS LINK:  My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here. 

You Are on the NSS and You Receive an Alien Signal from Planet Gliese

(Full article is below) 
 
            While the considerations are extensive, the paramount question is a simple one:
to answer the door or not. That this knock took twenty years to reach the United States
from the previously unknown Planet Gliese-581-g (referred to as Gliese hereafter), with
any response carrying the same delay, hearkens back to an age-old era of diplomacy
that existed before World War I and the advent of the telegram and other technological
advances.  Therefore, it is crucial that the President take time in responding, fully
evaluating all possible courses of action, outcomes, and their effects on international
relationships.  Callières warned against neophytes that sought to play the role of
diplomat when they did not know the “interests, the laws, the customs, the language…the
geographical situation” of the countries with which they interacted. In this case, the
U.S. government knows very little about Gliese outside of its ostensible technological
capacity. If the Washington decides to respond, they must send an immediate message
stating that the U.S. is working towards a solution, and also request complete background
data (population and natural resources), and information (history, system of government)
for the Planet Gliese to assist in helping them. After all, if Gliese does not have uranium
or a similar element, telling them how to develop nuclear energy likely will be a fruitless
exercise.

Conclusion:

 If the U.S. decides to respond, though, then the benefit of a multilateral response
depends on if Gliese was truthful and if nuclear energy does indeed save their planet. If
both of these are true, then only the U.S responding would provide the maximum benefit
of the prestige of saving a civilization and the gaining of a strong (at least
technologically) ally. If the response backfires in anyway though, then the U.S. would
benefit from a multilateral response. There is precedent over the last century to hedge
the U.S. response in this manner, as this is the manner in which the United States, and its
partners, have conducted humanitarian intervention over the last 50 years.

FAOA Elections till 28 August--Vote Early, Vote Often

FAOA Elections till 28 August

If you are a member of the Foreign Area Officer Association then you can vote in this year's Board of Governors elections.  If you are not a member of FAOA, consider joining.  $30 gets you a year long subscription to the magazine, as well as access to exclusive job postings and discounts at FAOA events.  

Membership isn't limited to military FAOs either; the Association is a great networking tool.  

If you do vote, please consider using all one of your votes on me (this is the first year that I am putting my hat in the ring).  

The elections message pasted from the excellent FAO Association Website (you can vote there):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VOTING IS NOW OPEN FOR THE FOREIGN AREA OFFICER ASSOCIATION ELECTION

NAME AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH FOR EACH PERSON NOMINATED FOR A POSITION ON THE FOREIGN AREA OFFICERS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF GOVERNORS:

The following Foreign Area Officers Association (FAOA) members, in alphabetical order, have been nominated for a position on the Board of Governors. Biographic sketches have been lightly edited to make them roughly the same in length and emphasize FAO assignments and experience. Current elected Board of Governors members running for re-election are indicated with an asterisk (*). Those elected will serve a three-year term beginning 1 October 2012. Voting will be on line at the FAOA website from time of this posting until 28 August 2012. That date – 28 August 2012 – is the official date of the election and no vote will be accepted after 1700 hrs Eastern Daylight Time.

You may vote for up to six members.

1. Michael (“Mike”) Dugan, CAPT USN (Retired)

Captain Dugan’s military and civilian work experience carried him all over the world. As a reservist on active duty he served in the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Somalia, and Oman. When recalled to active duty in 2003 he was Navy Central Command Liaison Officer to CJTF-5 in Baghdad. While assigned to Pacific Command he was deeply involved in planning for three iterations of Exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand; he also worked on many joint exercises with Japan while stationed at Barbers Point, HI. During Operation Deny Flight (Kosovo) he was chief planner of NATO and Italian air forces. In civilian life, working for Lockheed Martin he was leader of over 200 contractor pilots, sensor operators, and mechanics in Afghanistan. Mike is near-fluent in the Italian language. If elected to the Board of Governors, Mike is particularly interested in using his experience to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the FAO Journal of International Affairs. Mike lives in the National Capital Area.

2. Jonathan Dunn, MAJ US Army, Russia/Eurasia FAO.

Major Dunn is a policy analyst and international affairs specialist in conventional arms control at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). He previously served as assistant professor at the United States Military Academy, where he taught courses on Russian and European politics, international relations, and comparative politics. Major Dunn has also served in many command and staff assignments as a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army, including a six-month deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina and a fifteen-month deployment to Iraq as a troop commander. He holds a M.A. in International Relations & International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has volunteered to become editor-in-chief of the FAO Association Journal of  International Affairs if elected. He resides in the National Capital Area.

3. Michael R. Ercolano, LTC USMC, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia FAO.

Lieutenant Colonel Ercolano currently serves as Marine Attaché, USDAO Manila, the Philippines. He began his military service as an enlisted Marine and has more than 21 years of active military service. He is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School and is a Distance Learning student at the Air War College. Michael’s other FAO assignments include duty as a research fellow, Osaka University School of Public Policy; as Defense Logistics Agency Liaison Officer to US Forces Japan; and Chief of Staff, Ministry of Interior Transition Team, Baghdad. Mike has held a number of senior leadership positions in civilian organizations and has served as a fiscal/budget officer during several military assignments. He resides in Manila, The Philippines.

* 4. Michael Ferguson, COL USA (Retired), Africa FAO. FAO Assn Board of Governors Member, currently President Emeritus and Sponsorship Committee Chairman.

Colonel Ferguson is a member of the DIA Attaché System Hall of Fame, the Infantry OCS Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Board of Directors, National Military Intelligence Association. He has been an enlisted Medical Platoon Sergeant (Viet Nam and Korea) an Infantry Officer (Germany and Turkey) and has extensive executive and hands-on experience in intelligence collection, operations, planning, and training. He is a recognized expert on African affairs, with broad inter-agency experience as an African analyst, including five tours in Africa as a Defense Attaché (Ethiopia, South Africa, Tunisia and Cameroon). Mike also served two years as the first Chief of HUMINT Training and Professional Development as well as the Dean of the Defense Attaché School with additional responsibility for the STC program and the Defense Debriefing School. Colonel Ferguson is a life member of the FAO Association, was a charter member of the FAOA Board of Governors, and served as the second President of the Association. He is currently an independent consultant. Mike resides in the National Capital Area.

*5. John Haseman, COL USA (Retired), Southeast Asia FAO. FAO Assn Board of Governors Member, currently Assistant Editor of the FAO Journal International Affairs, and Chairman of the FAOA Elections Committee.

Colonel Haseman is a member of the DIA Attaché System Hall of Fame. He entered the Army FAO program in 1974, shortly after it was established, and from 1974 through his retirement in January 1995 he “single tracked” as a FAO. His FAO assignments included Commander Udorn Field Office, Udornthani, Thailand; Army Division Chief, US Defense Liaison Group Jakarta, Indonesia; Assistant Army Attaché to Indonesia; Senior Analyst for Southeast Asia, ACSI, Army HQ; Defense and Army Attaché, Rangoon, Burma; and Defense and Army Attaché, Jakarta, Indonesia. He served 2 ½ years in combat in Vietnam, with the 9th Infantry Division (1967-68) and as a district-level advisor (1971-73). He is author or co-author of four books and numerous book chapters dealing with Thailand and Indonesia; more than 250 of his news and analytical articles on Southeast Asia political-military subjects have been published in journals in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is fluent in the Indonesian language and also speaks Thai and Burmese. Colonel Haseman has been a member of the FAOA Board of Governors since 2009, and has volunteered to be Copy Editor for the FAO Journal. He resides in Colorado.

6. Brian Hobbs, LTC USAF (Retired), Northeast Asia/China RAS (FAO).  FAO Assn Board of Governors ex officio (non-voting) Member.

LTC Hobbs has provided significant contributions to FAO Assn events and is now seeking expanded responsibilities as an elected full Board member. He served as manager for the 2010 FAO Assn Black Tie Dinner, and served on the committee for the 2011 and 2012 Black Tie Dinners. Brian also serves on the FAOA Membership Committee. Brian began service in the Intelligence career field, and retired from the Air Force as a fully qualified Foreign Area Officer/Regional Affairs Strategist (FAO/RAS) for China and Northeast Asia (Japan & Korea). He has proficiency in the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. He taught Chinese and Japanese at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and taught Northeast Asian international relations and U.S. foreign policy as an exchange officer to the Korea Air Force Academy. His final assignment was to Air Force HQ, International Affairs (SAF/IA) where he conducted Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and political-military relations with Northeast Asian countries, and also established the new Air Force FAO career field, Regional Affairs Strategists. He recently returned to his FAO background, joining the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF F-35) Program Office as a Japan FMS Analyst. Brian resides in the National Capital Area.

7. John (“Jack”) Kruse, LCDR USN, Africa FAO.

Lieutenant Commander Kruse is currently pursuing a Master's degree in National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School. As the child of a Marine FAO, he lived in Morocco for a portion on his youth and fondly recalls playing soccer with the children of the diplomatic Maghreb elite. In previous military assignments, LCDR Kruse deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard USS Nimitz and subsequently served three years as the Safety Officer for Commander Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Pacific, where he developed a safety instruction program recognized as best practice Navy-wide. LCDR Kruse's following tour was in the Pentagon on the CNO N3N5 Staff as the Africa Desk Officer, during which the Navy Foreign Area Officer community selected him for accession. Notably, Jack created a week-long DC inter-agency indoctrination course for all Navy FAOs headed to Africa Security Cooperation assignments. He has written about African culture and literature, and life in the Pentagon and as a grad student, since 2010 at his blog "For Unofficial Use Only" (www.fuuo.blogspot.com).  Jack currently resides in Monterey, CA.

* 8, Kurt Marisa, COL USAF (Retired), European RAS (FAO). FAO Assn Board of Governors Member and currently FAO Assn President.

Colonel Marisa retired from active duty in July 2012. His final assignment was as a Deputy Director in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. Colonel Marisa was a career intelligence officer who became an Air Force European FAO and Regional Affairs Strategist (RAS) in 1998. He served as Military Attaché to Saudi Arabia, Air Attaché to the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland, and Defense Attaché to Suriname. He has also had military assignments in Germany and Korea and deployments to Saudi Arabia and South America. Colonel Marisa has an M.S. in International Studies from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, Netherlands, and an M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University (formerly JMIC).  He is a graduate of the Air War College, from which he wrote and published his course paper on the integration of Attaché and Security Assistance programs, contributing at the SECDEF level to the current DoD Senior Defense Officer (SDO)/DATT program. Colonel Marisa has served on the FAOA Board of Governors since 2004, as Vice President from October 2009 to May 2011, and as President from May 2011 to the present. Kurt resides in the National Capital Area.

9. Jason (“Brad”) Nicholson, MAJ (P), US Army, Sub-Saharan Africa FAO.

Major Nicholson currently serves as Chief, Office of Security Cooperation, US Embassy Kampala, Uganda. His previous FAO assignments include a tour as the Foreign Area Officer at US Embassy Tanzania; the Lebanon, Syria, Israel desk officer for J5, JCS; and as the Deputy Branch Chief, Middle East and Africa (G-3/5/7), the Army Staff. Major Nicholson is fluent in both French and German. In addition to his various international affairs positions Major Nicholson is a frequent contributor to the FAO Journal, the DISAM Journal, and other publications. Major Nicholson is a member of the Editorial Review Board for the FAO Journal. Brad has long been involved with administering extracurricular organizations and is currently serving as Vice-President for Memberships, Team Army Cycling (a USA Cycling sanctioned club), and as a member of the Alumni Advisory Board for the Georgetown University Public Policy Review. Major Nicholson resides in Kampala, Uganda.

*10. Graham Plaster, LT USN, EUCOM FAO.  FAO Assn Board of Governors Member, currently Secretary and Webmaster.

Lieutenant Plaster is a Liaison Officer supporting US military deployed to UN Peacekeeping missions in Israel, Egypt and Iraq. He previously served as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard the USS Reuben James (FFG 57) out of Pearl Harbor, deploying in support of OIF and OEF to the Persian Gulf. Subsequently he joined the staff of Destroyer Squadron One in San Diego and deployed in support of Counter Drug Operations in South America. He also served as Assistant Dean of Students at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. While there, Lieutenant Plaster completed a Masters degree in Humanities at Salve Regina University with a thesis on electronic democracy in Iran. He built an internal wiki for student collaboration and knowledge management. After selected as a Naval Foreign Area Officer, he studied Arabic at DLI. While in Monterey, he became webmaster for the Foreign Area Officer Association of Monterey. He now serves as webmaster for the FAO Assn.  He is currently writing a book on social media influences on democratization in Iran. Graham resides in the National Capital Area.

11. James (“JB”) Shelton, COL USAF (Retired), European FAO.

Colonel Shelton began service in the US Marine Corps, including a combat assignment in Vietnam. A former C-130 and C-5A pilot, JB’s air force career included assignment as Assistant Air Attaché to Italy; Commander of the USAF 696th Intelligence Group (Humint) and principal liaison for Humint exchanges with Germany, Korea, and Japan; Chief of the Middle East, Africa, and Strategic Counterterrorism Operations, DIA; Dean of the Joint Military Attaché School; and Deputy Executive Director of the Defense Humint Service. Since retirement, JB has worked as a consultant on defense and intelligence matters. He was Program Manager for the design, development, and implementation of the Near East/South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. He currently serves as Director of Operations for JTG Inc., providing language and cultural services, analysis, and operations support across the Intelligence Community and commercial sector. He supports the FAO Association as co-chairman of the FAO Assn Pentagon FAOA Heritage Display initiative. JB resides in the National Capital Area.

12. Michael Trahan, COL US Army (Retired), Africa/Middle East/Western Europe FAO.

Colonel Trahan had a varied career in policy and security assistance assignments and filled command billets up to the brigade level. His most recent assignments included Deputy Director for Middle East and Africa, DIA; Deputy Director for Near East and South Asia, OSD-ISA; Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; J3 Plans Officer at CENTCOM; and as Political and Military Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern Affairs. Mike holds a BA in History from Texas A&M University and a Masters in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a graduate of the State Department Senior Seminar. He is a linguist in Arabic and Hebrew and also speaks French and German. Colonel Trahan retired in 2005 and worked at senior executive levels of several international defense and aerospace corporations. He is now President of Alternate Axis, his own consulting company to the defense and aerospace industries. Mike lives in the National Capital Area.

LINK:
http://www.faoa.org/Default.aspx?pageId=498955&eventId=530114&EventViewMode=EventDetails