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Colonel Martin Leppert USARNG (Ret.) is a Research Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He is currently assigned to the Civil-Military Operations - Human Environment Interaction team with the Army's Engineer Research and Development Center, Alexandria, VA. His extensive experience in Afghanistan includes commanding the 2nd Embedded Training Brigade, 205th Regional Command Assistance Group, (RCAG) in Zabul Province. In a recent issue of Infantry magazine, he writes about the critical role that water supplies play in Afghanistan, and how managing water security issues can play a key role in a counterinsurgency strategy. Click below to read the article in full.
Prof. James Giordano, PhD, is a neuroscientist, Vice President for Academic Programs and Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Posting on his NeuroBioEthics blog, Prof. Giordano recently addressed the question of "predictive neurotechnology," and its potential role in crime prevention, among other areas. Prof. Giordano writes: "There is the implication (and maybe expectation) that neuroS&T could be used to define predispositions to types of behavior, and thus may have some predictive value, and could be employed to allow preemptive interventions to deter the commission of crimes. For sure, this has 'Minority Report' overtones, but as distasteful as this seems at face value, the recent shootings in Oslo (and those in Phoenix, and Columbine, among others) prompt renewed calls to use the science and technologies we have at hand to 'do something' to ensure that such events do not happen again." But he also warns that legal and ethical hazards are numerous. Click here to read the entry on NeuroBioEthics.
Prof. James Giordano, PhD, is a neuroscientist, Vice President for Academic Programs and Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. In a letter published in The Washington Post, he commented on an effort by Google's new think tank, Google Ideas, to harness the power of technology to fight violent extremism. Prof. Giordano writes that technology, including neurotechnology, offers promise in this area - but beware of "mission creep." Click here to read the letter, "Can Google fight terrorism?" in the Letters to the Editor column of the Post.
Prof. James Giordano, PhD, is a neuroscientist, Vice President for Academic Programs and Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Posting on the NeuroTechZone blog, he writes about ethical questions raised by rapid advances in neurotechnology, including the "BioBolt" brain implant being developed by researchers at the University of Michigan. Prof. Giordano writes that BioBolt carries "enormous potential." But, he adds, "In our current era of fast-emerging innovative neurotechnology, we must critically confront the practical questions of how such technologies will be provided to those who need them." Click here to read Prof. Giordano's post on NeuroTechZone. Click here to visit Prof. Giordano's own blog, NeuroBioEthics.
The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' fifth Cyber Challenge Symposium, on July 6, continues to garner media attention, with an ongoing focus on comments by panelist and former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden. In coverage on Network World's website, the symposium is described as "provocative" and Gen. Hayden's suggestion that a "dot-secure" domain could be created is discussed along with comments by fellow panelists. Click here to read the story in full.