Author Archive

Patrick Tucker

Science & Technology Editor, Defense One

Patrick Tucker
Patrick Tucker is science and technology editor for Defense One. He’s also the author of The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move? (Current, 2014). Previously, Tucker was deputy editor for The Futurist for nine years. Tucker has written about emerging technology in Slate, The Sun, MIT Technology Review, Wilson Quarterly, The American Legion Magazine, BBC News Magazine, Utne Reader, and elsewhere.
Defense

Senators want answers from DOD on quantum sensing efforts

Bipartisan letter wonders whether China’s programs “outstrip the efforts of the United States.”

Artificial Intelligence

Can AI predict if a Marine will quit? Corps wants to know

“Retention prediction network” could reveal signs that trainers and recruiters might otherwise miss.

Modernization

Could an easy radio fix have prevented the Trump assassination attempt?

“Being able to talk to other agencies real-time certainly would assist in that response,” one official said.

Defense

Special operators hope AI can reduce civilian deaths in combat

Automation could eventually turn “trigger-pullers into the experts that can do this,” one official said.

Defense

Two programs suggest the Pentagon is getting better at buying technology

The Maven and Collaborative Combat Aircraft efforts display real steps forward, a pair of reports say.

Emerging Tech

Pentagon planning huge experiment for its connect-everything concept

“We see significant progress,” in opening up DOD data, one observer said. But a bigger, multinational test is coming.

Defense

DARPA wants to use AI to find new rare minerals

With spectral analysis, it’s possible to “tell the difference [between] cocaine that came from one cartel’s area of Colombia versus another.”

Defense

How AI is turning satellite imagery into a window on the future

What can a picture from space tell you? “You're likely to have a drought here that might lead to civil unrest.”

Defense

Giant military manta ray drone passes first ocean test

Manta Ray prototype demonstrates propulsion, steering in step toward “real-world operations.”

Defense

How digital engineering could produce new weapons faster

“This enables process automation more broadly,” GDIT engineer says of new accelerator.

Emerging Tech

New bill would greatly expand Defense Department quantum efforts

Proposed legislation would establish a quantum advisor and a new center of excellence.

Artificial Intelligence

US-UK safety pact could shape the future of AI

Two research institutes will collaborate on AI safety tests, among other things.

Defense

Software delay will reduce F-35 deliveries for a second straight year

Lockheed says the TR-3 upgrade, due last year, has slipped to third quarter of 2024.

Defense

The Pentagon is already testing tomorrow’s AI-powered swarm drones, ships

DOD pulled off unmanned amphibious landings, self-coding drones, and more just in the last year. What's next?

Artificial Intelligence

How often does ChatGPT push misinformation?

Researchers found that one of the most popular generative-AI tools agreed with false statements up to one-quarter of the time.