U.S. Military May Create an Internet-Based Intelligent Machine

U.S. military may create an intelligent machine that will teach itself on the Internet:

Of the various possible types of AI, the “most revolutionary would be an intelligent machine that uses the Internet to train,” write the authors of a military-commissioned National Research Council report on emerging cognitive neuroscience. With so much information online and constantly updated, “If a system that reasoned like a human being could be achieved, there would be no limit to augmenting its capabilities.”

This is part of a report by National Research Council. It will be interesting to see how this initiative will lead to. With the exponential growth of technology, there is a danger that the “creature” will do more harm than good to humanity.

Future Army Training with MMOG

U.S Army plans that future army training will use massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) similar to World of Warcraft:

“Potentially an MMOG could be created which adheres to the physical and behavioral reality of the world and provides an ‘always on’ environment in which to execute training, something like World of Warcraft, but focused on the military training customer,” says Dr. Roger Smith.

The Army has used games for training purposes before. One of them is America’s Army. It’s interesting to see how this new initiative will be different from the previous ones.

X-37B Robot Military Spaceplane to Launch in November

Robot military spaceplane is an interesting new weapon and it will launch in November:

The X-37B robotic military spaceplane will launch on an Atlas V out of Cape Canaveral this November. The U.S Air Force and Boeing are currently preparing for the Orbital Test Vehicle’s (OTV) launch. Well, now we know just who had enough clout to bump the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)/LCROSS Atlas V launch into 2009. There had been talk of a "black" program that was going to launch ahead of LRO, but I didn’t realize it was going to be more than a satellite…

The original X-37 is a demonstration spaceplane:

The Boeing X-37 Advanced Technology Demonstrator is a demonstration spaceplane that is intended to test future launch technologies while in orbit and during atmospheric reentry. It is a reusable robotic spacecraft that is a 120%-scaled derivative of the X-40A. It flew its first flight as a drop test on April 7, 2006 at Edwards AFB.

Secret Nuclear War Bunkers

Wired recently wrote two interesting stories about secret nuclear war bunkers. The first one is about SiteR, Pentagon’s secret bunker:

Site R is not secret, but details of what’s inside are hidden from view. The agenda provides some hints about what’s there: a presidential weather support facility (presumably for Air Force One) and construction related to electromagnetic pulse protection. But perhaps the most eye-catching item on the agenda is a “Gorilla Rock Update” provided by miners, suggesting that there is new construction going on inside the mountain.

The second story is about Plan Mercator, Australia’s secret nuclear war bunker:

Australian media is reporting that the government there has built a classified facility designed to house top leaders in the event of a terrorist attack. "Protected by heavy gates, a high-security fence and an array of CCTV cameras, the Symonston facility is discreetly located at 24 Wormald Street next to the Canberra office of the Aristocrat gaming machine company," The Canberra Times reports.

Apparently there are more secret bunkers than these two, but they offer good glimpse to what nuclear war bunkers look like.