Voices from DARPA

DARPA
  • 4.8 (104)
  • TECHNOLOGY
Voices from DARPA

DARPA’s podcast series, "Voices from DARPA," offers a revealing and informative window on the minds of the Agency's program managers. In each episode, a program manager from one of DARPA’s six technical offices—Biological Technologies, Defense Sciences, Information Innovation, Microsystems Technology, Strategic Technology, and Tactical Technology—will discuss in informal and personal terms why they are at DARPA and what they are up to. The goal of "Voices from DARPA" is to share with listeners some of the institutional know-how, vision, process, and history that together make the “secret sauce” DARPA has been adding to the Nation’s innovation ecosystem for nearly 60 years. On another level, we at DARPA just wanted to share the pleasure we all have every day—in the elevator, in the halls, in our meeting rooms—as we learn from each other and swap ideas and strive to change what’s possible.

  1. 11/26/2024

    Episode 84: Hackable Code & the Formal Fix

    U.S. national security depends on an aging IT infrastructure that supports a vast network of systems spanning the globe. Over the past three decades, traditional security practices—like virus scanning, patching software, and intrusion detection systems—have led to a landscape of vulnerable systems. The Department of Defense is no exception, where legacy IT systems and even the most advanced fighter jets and weapons platforms are susceptible to exploitable weaknesses.But this doesn’t have to continue being our reality.In this episode of Voices from DARPA, we explore the agency’s groundbreaking work on revolutionizing software development. At the forefront of this transformation is the use of formal methods—a powerful, mathematical approach that ensures robust security and guarantees the absence of vulnerabilities in software systems. Join experts from DARPA and its strategic partners as they explore how these cutting-edge tools are reshaping the security landscape and paving the way for a future where vulnerabilities are not just minimized but provably absent—across the U.S. military and beyond.Show Notes·      Current DARPA programs leveraging formal methods: o  AI Quantified (AIQ) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/artificial-intelligence-quantified)o  Assured Autonomy (https://www.darpa.mil/program/assured-autonomy)o  Assured Micropatching (AMP) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/assured-micropatching)o  Automated Rapid Certification of Software (ARCOS) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/automated-rapid-certification-of-software)o  Intrinsic Cognitive Security (ICS) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/intrinsic-cognitive-security)o  Pipelined Reasoning of Verifiers Enabling Robust Systems (PROVERS) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/pipelined-reasoning-of-verifiers-enabling-robust-systems)o  Provably Weird Network Deployment and Detection (PWND2) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/provably-weird-network-deployment-and-detection) o  Safe Documents (SafeDocs) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/safe-documents)o  Verified Security and Performance Enhancement of Large Legacy Software (V-SPELLS) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/verified-security-and-performance-enhancement-of-large-legacy-software)·      High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems (HACMS) overview (https://www.darpa.mil/program/high-assurance-cyber-military-systems), research paper (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2015.0401), and Little Bird demo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyqNpn6JpBk)·      National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop on Secure Building Blocks for Trustworthy Systems (https://vimeo.com/983304518) (segment at 7:23:49)·      Voices from DARPA Episode 51: The Cybersecurity Sleuth (https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-11-02), featuring former DARPA program manager, Dr. Sergey Bratus·      DARPA Forward: Engineering Secure Information Systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggEO4G79kTg&list=PL6wMum5UsYva7vcwulFuwmuZVhqJKKI9m&index=10) video presentation

    25 min

  2. 10/24/2024

    Episode 83: When Should Machines Decide?

    What characteristics make a person trustworthy? Under what circumstances would a person delegate life or death decisions to artificial intelligence (AI)? Does it matter that AI systems reflect trustworthy humans’ decision-making preferences, morals, and ethics? If so, what characteristics are most important?These are some of the fundamental questions DARPA researchers are exploring for the In the Moment (https://www.darpa.mil/program/in-the-moment) (ITM) program, which aims to support the development of algorithms that are trusted to independently make decisions in difficult domains, particularly in significant trauma events such as battlefield triage.DARPA’s research has identified the need for fundamentally different approaches to advance AI technology to a place where we’re willing to trust it and not be foolish to do so. Continuing themes from our mini-series on ELSI (https://www.darpa.mil/our-research/ethical-legal-societal-implications-of-research) – ethical, legal, and societal implications of new technologies and capabilities – we meet with DARPA’s ITM program manager, Dr. Patrick Shafto, and the ITM performers and ELSI advisors, who break down how they’re tackling the fundamental question of alignment in the context of human decision-makers and autonomous decision-making tools.In case you missed them, check out our previous ELSI series episodes at the following links:Episode 79: Integrating ELSI (https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-16)Episode 78: Introducing ELSI (https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-04-30a)Our special thanks to the following ITM performers and advisors for their contributions to this episode (in order of their appearance):·        Alice Leung, RTX BBN·        Joseph Cohn, SoarTech·        Matthew Molineaux, Parallax Advanced Research·        Arslan Basharat, Kitware Inc.·        Jennifer McVay, CACI·        Dave Cotting, Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)·        Sarah Daly, IDA·        Lauren Diaz, University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS)·        Ellie Tyler, ARLIS

    21 min

  3. 09/26/2024

    Episode 82: Acquisition Awesomeness

    Accomplishing DARPA’s mission of creating and preventing strategic surprise is as much a business challenge as it is a technology challenge.In this episode, team members from DARPA’s Contracts Management Office – Office Director Effie Fragogiannis and Deputy Director Catherine Stevens, along with Senior Advisor Scott Ulrey – explore what it takes to innovate contracting processes and mechanisms to enable the development of breakthrough technologies at the speed of relevance.From DARPA’s pioneering work with Other Transactions, to fast-pitch proposals, to the exploration of previously unrealized authorities, hear how the agency is breaking down the barriers of government contracting, providing companies a clearer path to the national security mission.Links:Acquisition Innovation (https://acquisitioninnovation.darpa.mil/) Collaborative Disruption at DoD – Kathleen Hicks – American Dynamism Summit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN75v_jiLWA)Acquisition Innovation: From Other Transactions to Fast-Pitch Proposals (https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-04-22)Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Other Transactions Guide (https://www.acq.osd.mil/asda/dpc/cp/policy/docs/guidebook/TAB%20A1%20-%20DoD%20OT%20Guide%20JUL%202023_final.pdf)DARPAConnect (https://www.darpaconnect.us/home)

    17 min

  4. 07/29/2024

    Episode 81: DTC - Revolutionizing Triage

    In this episode, Dr. Jean-Paul Chretien and Elissa Rupley from our Biological Technologies Office provide an exciting update from the recent DARPA Triage Challenge (DTC) workshop at the Guardian Centers (https://guardiancenters.com/) in Perry, GA.  The DARPA Triage Challenge, or DTC, aims to drive breakthrough innovations in identification of “signatures” of injury that will help medical responders perform scalable, timely, and accurate triage. Of particular interest are mass casualty incidents, in both civilian and military settings, when medical resources are limited relative to the need. We also hear from Alix Donnelly, from the U.S. Army's Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) and some of the participating DTC Team Members on their experience thus far in the competition. There are still opportunities to get involved – listen to learn more!Links:DARPA Triage Challenge (https://triagechallenge.darpa.mil/)Dr. Jean-Paul Chretien bio (https://www.darpa.mil/staff/dr-jean-paul-chretien)DTC Workshop 1 highlight video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J366-qx1ST0) DTC YouTube Playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6wMum5UsYvYlCNFhd9Y7MMURvPKbh07J)

    26 min

  5. 06/28/2024

    Episode 80: Decentralizing Chemistry

    In this episode, Dr. Vishnu Sundaresan (https://www.darpa.mil/staff/dr-vishnu-sundaresan) from our Defense Sciences Office highlights several technology programs designed to precisely control chemical processes to enable distributed, small-batch manufacturing of chemical products while retaining efficiencies of large-scale industrial production. Colloquially calling this portfolio “decentralized chemistry for everything,” the concept aims to shift the paradigm from a few centralized production facilities producing medicines in large batches and requiring a costly purification process, to direct manufacturing of pure pharmaceuticals via desktop printer-sized machines that would create — at the push of a button — doses of a variety of medicines whenever and wherever needed. Such a revolutionary capability — if successful — would circumvent brittle international chemical supply chains and would serve military members deployed in remote locations as well as benefit rural civilian communities.Sundaresan describes programs aiming to achieve elements of this vision: Spin-COntrolled chemical Process Engineering (SCOPE) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/spin-controlled-chemical-process-engineering), Recycling at the Point of Disposal (RPOD) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/recycling-at-the-point-of-disposal), and Establishing Qualification Processes for Agile Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (EQUIP-A-Pharma) (https://www.darpa.mil/program/establishing-qualification-processes-for-agile-pharmaceutical-manufacturing).Listen to Sundaresan describe his journey to becoming a DARPA program manager, the fascinating world of controlling electron spins, and the ethical, legal, and societal challenges of preparing the market for such revolutionary tech.

    23 min

  6. 05/15/2024

    Episode 79: Integrating ELSI

    In this episode, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into ELSI – ethical, legal, and societal implications of new technologies and capabilities – and specific examples of how DARPA programs have incorporated those consid...

    29 min

  7. 04/30/2024

    Episode 78: Introducing ELSI

    As a global leader in innovation, DARPA starts an average of 50 new programs each year. These programs span a variety of technical disciplines to develop breakthrough technologies for national security, all of which have the potential to raise ethical, legal, and societal implication – or, ELSI – considerations.Taking time to consider ELSI’s role in a program can contribute to the responsible development of emerging technologies by guiding innovation, maximizing the potential application space, and facilitating dialogue with future end-users, and the public, to ensure diverse perspectives and implications are considered. It can improve research by fostering conversations that identify unknowns, anticipate consequences, and make design decisions to maximize benefits and opportunities and minimize risks and harms.In this episode of Voices from DARPA (https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/podcast), we’ll hear from DARPA Director, Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, to explain the agency's perspective on those implications, as well as Dr. Bart Russell, deputy director of the Defense Sciences Office, on what it would mean to incorporate ELSI across the agency more formally. Finally, Dr. Rebecca Crootof, DARPA’s inaugural ELSI Visiting Scholar, will discuss her journey to the agency and her approach to developing a process to ensure that ELSI can inform — and even improve —DARPA programs.That sounds like a lot of responsibility, influence, and potential impact – for some, maybe, too good to be true?Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of Emerging Technologies at DARPA (https://www.darpa.mil/our-research/ethical-legal-societal-implications-of-research) DARPA currently is seeking applicants for the 2025 ELSI Visiting Scholar (https://www.darpa.mil/attachments/2025_DARPA%20Visiting%20Scholar%20for%20ELSI_formatted.pdf). The deadline to apply is June 3, 2024.Origin of the term ELSI: Three decades of ethical, legal, and social implications research: Looking back to chart a path forward (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9352173/)The piece references a class from Dr. Oona A. Hathaway (https://law.yale.edu/oona-hathaway)

    24 min

  8. 03/28/2024

    Episode 77: Meet DARPAConnect

    Good ideas can come from anywhere, but what is the best way to find them, or help them find you?  In 2022, DARPA hit the road in pursuit of the answer. Comprising six regional events, DARPA Forward (https://forward.darpa.mil/) took the agency across the country to engage untapped talent and strengthen the nationwide innovation ecosystem. The event series offered a powerful lesson in breaking down barriers of entry in pursuit of national security breakthroughs.  To sustain this momentum, DARPA launched DARPAConnect, an initiative that aims to further broaden the agency’s reach and foster greater collaboration with underrepresented, diverse, and nontraditional institutions new to the national security space.  In this episode of Voices from DARPA (https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/podcast), we’re taking a deep dive on DARPAConnect, talking with several of those involved in the initiative to get a sense of how it all works. We’ll explore its goals, its offerings, and what success looks like at DARPA, home to some of the biggest – and riskiest – bets on U.S. technological innovation.  DARPAConnect website: https://www.darpaconnect.us/home (https://www.darpaconnect.us/home)

    18 min
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4.8
out of 5
104 Ratings

About

DARPA’s podcast series, "Voices from DARPA," offers a revealing and informative window on the minds of the Agency's program managers. In each episode, a program manager from one of DARPA’s six technical offices—Biological Technologies, Defense Sciences, Information Innovation, Microsystems Technology, Strategic Technology, and Tactical Technology—will discuss in informal and personal terms why they are at DARPA and what they are up to. The goal of "Voices from DARPA" is to share with listeners some of the institutional know-how, vision, process, and history that together make the “secret sauce” DARPA has been adding to the Nation’s innovation ecosystem for nearly 60 years. On another level, we at DARPA just wanted to share the pleasure we all have every day—in the elevator, in the halls, in our meeting rooms—as we learn from each other and swap ideas and strive to change what’s possible.

Information

  • Creator
    DARPA
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2024
  • Episodes
    92
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Voices from DARPA
  • Show Website
    Voices from DARPA

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