Critical Update Nextgov

DevSecOps is enabling incredible accomplishments at the Defense Department—like updating code on a U-2 jet during a live flight. With software factories popping up across the department, Nextgov sought out the story of one program in particular to understand how DevSecOps works at DOD. That program is called Platform One, and though it's been around for less than two years, it already supports major programs across the military services and DOD components.

Too often, talk about modernizing the federal government’s technology turns to innovation groups. But the IT systems delivering services to the American people day-in and day-out are built, maintained and updated by career federal employees. Meet two agency software developers: One at the start of their career and the other nearing the end.

CRISPR is a gene-editing technology that the world is still figuring out. The tool allows a user to reprogram the DNA of cells in plants, animals and humans but with that comes a slew of ethical and legal questions. Scientists are still exploring potential uses—and they aren’t the only ones. Some individuals experiment on themselves. In this episode, a Food and Drug Administration official and a biohacker share their perspectives on what’s happening now and where things could go.

Inside the government, talk of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs isn’t as taboo as it used to be. This episode of Critical Update offers a glimpse into how the government explores the unexplainable—and whether or not humans are alone in the universe.

An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, capable of knocking out all electronics in its area could come in the wake of an atomic blast or, if TV and movies are to be believed, from a small non-nuclear device. But are EMPs a real threat? Experts join Critical Update to weigh in.

The Defense Department has a well-documented interest in bringing artificial intelligence to fruition so human operators can focus on high-level decisions while the tech takes care of the rest. But there’s a significant hurdle: If people don’t trust AI, the technology won’t be useful. DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution program is not only bringing AI to the cockpit, it’s also figuring out how to measure trust so that AI can be tailor-made for pilots to create a symbiotic human-machine team.