Top of the Day

Anne Neuberger on AI: ‘We have to challenge ourselves to be first’

(Dina Temple-Raston – The Record – 28 February 2025) The Record caught up with Anne Neuberger, the former White House deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, on the sidelines of this year’s Munich Security Conference. Neuberger helped set cyber policy for four years during the Biden administration — everything from helping hospitals beset by ransomware attacks to setting up a kind of good housekeeping seal for cyber secure products. In Munich, we focused on artificial intelligence, including China’s DeepSeek surprise and how AI will play a role in the future world order. – https://therecord.media/neuberger-on-ai-challenge-to-be-first

Global crackdown on AI-generated child sexual abuse material leads to 25 arrests

(Adam Janofsky – The Record – 28 February 2025) More than two dozen suspected members of a criminal group were recently arrested for allegedly distributing sexual images of minors generated by artificial intelligence. “Operation Cumberland,” led by Danish law enforcement and supported by agencies in 18 other countries, identified 273 suspects and more arrests are expected in the coming weeks, according to a press release from Europol. The operation also involved 33 house searches and 173 seized electronic devices so far. – https://therecord.media/csam-ai-arrests-europol

Energy and AI Coordination in the ‘Eastern Data Western Computing’ Plan

(Andrew Stokols – The Jamestown Foundation – 28 February 2025) The “Eastern Data Western Computing” plan is a multiagency strategy that coordinates cloud computing data centers and energy infrastructure across the People’s Republic of China. These are increasingly relevant with the rise of artificial intelligence. This cloud infrastructure buildout likely will not rival that of the United States, but its coordination with renewable energy capacity means that the country’s digital infrastructure will be sustainable, based on a resilient energy system, and foster economic development opportunities in underinvested regions. Early plans for building data centers in Western China were backed by Li Zhanshu, later Xi Jinping’s chief of staff, and key support from other influential officials likely were key to establishing Guizhou as a hub in the national system. Many of the hubs’ locations are remote and have climates and geographic features that make them suitable for hosting data centers that can perform energy-intensive functions that do not necessarily require “real-time” computation and ultra-low latency. – https://jamestown.org/program/energy-and-ai-coordination-in-the-eastern-data-western-computing-plan/

States vulnerable to foreign aggression embrace the cloud: lessons from Taiwan

(Jocelinn Kang – The Strategist – 28 February 2025) Taiwan is among nations pioneering the adoption of hyperscale cloud services to achieve national digital resilience. The island faces two major digital threats: digital isolation, in which international connectivity is intentionally severed or significantly degraded (for instance, if all submarine cables are cut), and digital disruption, in which local infrastructure, such as data centres, is inoperable. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/states-vulnerable-to-foreign-aggression-embrace-the-cloud-lessons-from-taiwan/

Meta’s Waterworth cable project is about geopolitics and geoeconomics

(Ravi Nayyar – The Strategist – 28 February 2025) Announced on 14 February, Meta’s Project Waterworth is not just proposed to be the world’s longest submarine cable but reflects ever-shifting geopolitical and geoeconomic landscapes. It presents a great opportunity for Australia to collaborate more with its regional partners, especially India and the Pacific countries, on technologies keeping us online. For Meta, this addition to subsea infrastructure is slated to open a chance to monetise accelerating international data flows. In developing and running this cable, Meta also seeks to prioritise its own traffic and minimise latency for its and its partners’ infrastructure and services. No surprises there. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/metas-waterworth-cable-project-is-about-geopolitics-and-geoeconomics/

Trump’s AI strategy puts the Indo-Pacific at a crossroads

(Malki Opatha, Bart Hogeveen – The Strategist – 28 February 2025) The United States’ refusal to sign the recent AI Action Summit declaration should be seen as a strategic shift rather than a diplomatic snub to the rest of the world. AI is as much about innovation as it is about driving economic security and military power. Therefore, Washington’s decision reflects its intent to maintain an edge in AI development, free from global constraints. For Indo-Pacific nations, this shift deepens their strategic dilemma. The region risks being caught between emerging doctrines—balancing between Europe, China and the US, between regulate and don’t regulate, between mitigating social harms and advancing military capabilities. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/trumps-ai-strategy-puts-the-indo-pacific-at-a-crossroads/

The hidden cost of AI: Unpacking its energy and water footprint

(Arti Garg, Irene Kitsara, Sarah Bérubé – OECD.AI – 26 February 2025) On 12 February 2025, the OECD and IEEE co-organised an event on the margin of the French AI Action Summit with diverse experts to discuss AI’s growing environmental challenges. The event’s three main sessions covered critical sustainability concerns: the environmental cost of inference, the impact of data centres on the electricity grid, and AI’s water footprint. – https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/the-hidden-cost-of-ai-energy-and-water-footprint

Security

UK silence over Apple ‘back door’ is unsustainable and unjustifiable, say experts

(Alexander Martin – The Record – 28 February 2025) The British government’s refusal to either confirm or deny any details about a legal notice targeting Apple’s cryptographic protections for iCloud accounts risks undermining domestic and international confidence in Westminster, experts have warned. While the existence of the notice has not been avowed by either British officials or Apple, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has ordered a legal review of the secret directive and said she had a “grave concern” about its implications. – https://therecord.media/apple-uk-back-door-request-privacy-security-experts

Defense, Intelligence, and Warfare

US firm developing GLSDB 2.0 weapon with improved electronic warfare resilience

(Bojan Stojkovski – Interesting Engineering – 1 March 2025) Defense giant Raytheon, a division of RTX Corporation, is developing a ground-launched variant of its GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, the precision-guided, long-range munition known as StormBreaker. Raytheon has not disclosed full details but plans to begin testing the weapon this summer, according to Jon Norman, Vice President of Air & Space Defense Systems Requirements & Capability, during the Fighter Pilot Podcast. Currently, the company is assessing propulsion options, weighing a traditional solid-propellant system against an air-breathing jet engine. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-firm-developing-glsdb-2-0-weapon

A 3D-printed submarine? Not likely, but maybe something close

(Lauren C. Williams – Defense One – 28 February 2025) More and more U.S. warship and submarine parts are being 3D-printed—and now the Navy is going after the “really hard problems,” a top official says. “I could go anywhere in the Navy, and you will see additive manufacturing, but it’s not solving our biggest problems,” Christopher Miller, the executive director of Naval Sea Systems Command, said during Govini’s Defense and Data Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. – https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2025/02/3d-printed-submarine-not-likely-maybe-something-close/403390/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary

Frontiers

Chinese Scientists Overcome Key Barrier to Scalable Photonic Quantum Computing

(Matt Swayne – Quantum Insider – 1 March 2025) Chinese researchers have developed a single-photon source with 71.2% efficiency, surpassing the threshold required for scalable photonic quantum computing. The system, based on a quantum dot embedded in a tunable microcavity, minimizes photon loss while maintaining high purity and indistinguishability. While the approach addresses a key scalability challenge, practical implementation still faces hurdles, including cryogenic operation and detector efficiency limits. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/03/01/chinese-scientists-overcome-key-barrier-to-scalable-photonic-quantum-computing/

China successfully tests new 66-satellite space-based cargo tracking system

(Christopher McFadden – Interesting Engineering – 1 March 2025) Chinese scientists have allegedly developed a new satellite network to track hundreds of millions of shipping containers worldwide. This technology, it is reported, could prove to be a big leap forward in monitoring global supply chains. The new system revolves around the Tiantuo-5 satellite, a compact 175 lb (80 kg) spacecraft first launched into orbit in 2020 using a Long March 2D rocket. Tiantuo-5 was developed to test and verify data collection technologies for ships, aircraft, buoys with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). The satellite was developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Changsha. The name Tiantuo roughly translates to “breaking new ground with the power of heaven.” – https://interestingengineering.com/space/china-tests-satellite-space-based-cargo-tracking

US to get 30 nuclear microreactors to generate clean energy for data centers

(Prabhat Ranjan Mishra – Interesting Engineering – 1 March 2025) A Washington-based firm has decided to build 30 microreactors in Haskell County, Texas. Last Energy has obtained control of a 200-acre site to provide power to off-takers via a mix of private wire and grid transmission. The facility is expected to serve American data center customers across the state. “Texas is the energy capital of America, and we are working to be No. 1 in advanced nuclear power,” said Governor Abbott. “Last Energy’s microreactor project in Haskell County will help fulfill the state’s growing data center demand. Texas must become a national leader in advanced nuclear energy. By working together with industry leaders like Last Energy, we will usher in a nuclear power renaissance in the United States.” – https://interestingengineering.com/energy/last-energy-build-nuclear-microreactors

Hybrid Quantum Approach Could Help Astronauts on Deep Space Missions

(Matt Swayne – Quantum Insider – 27 February 2025) A hybrid quantum-classical computing framework to enhance space mission operations by integrating quantum sensors, processors, and communication networks with conventional spacecraft systems, according to researchers. The scientists tested the model on satellite imaging task scheduling using IBM’s Qiskit simulator, finding that the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) outperformed a classical greedy algorithm in prioritizing high-value tasks but required longer computational time. Challenges remain in hardware reliability, environmental resilience, and system integration, with future research needed to test hybrid models on real satellite data and improve quantum algorithm efficiency for space applications. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/02/27/hybrid-quantum-approach-could-help-astronauts-on-deep-space-missions/