Mary Lee

UFOs Are Not the Only Potential Threat in American Skies

How can the United States best monitor its millions of square miles of domestic airspace for unidentified anomalous phenomena—what were once called UFOs—or anything else? Public reporting could help officials identify potential threats—but it'd help if the sightings being reported were actually unknown aerial phenomena and not U.S. military aircraft.

Governance in Space: Mining the Moon and Beyond

Without further cooperation and agreement among space powers, multiple, competing governance systems may end up being established, further increasing potential for conflict. The time to address this issue is now, so that the use of deep-space resources contributes to prosperity, security, and freedom on Earth and throughout the solar system.

Privacy Rights Have Changed. Will Data Handling Follow?

Until privacy protection laws are cemented into place, consumer privacy won't be assured unless consumers can effectively take the steps they need to take to protect their data. Tech companies might view this as a burden, but there will likely be profits for those companies that instead see it as an opportunity.

Now Could Be the Time to Form Policy for Emerging Brain- and Body-Enhancement Technologies

Policymakers might consider developing appropriate policy frameworks for emerging brain- and body-enhancement technologies to ensure that innovations harnessed for societal, economic, or military benefits do not create new vulnerabilities and that governments adequately defend and manage against potential attacks. The technology is quickly moving forward. Policy may need to play catch-up.

Should Communities Be Concerned About Digital Technologies to Fight COVID-19?

Personal smart devices offer an unprecedented opportunity to identify, track, map, and communicate about COVID-19. But apps could pose privacy and security concerns.

The Perils of Connecting Our Bodies to the Internet

High-tech health care solutions are part of an emerging sector of medical technologies that monitor personal health data by essentially connecting your body to the Internet. As smart devices in health care evolve, the line between human and machine is blurring, and creating new concerns about consumer safety and privacy rights.

Commentary

Select Space Concepts for the New Space Era

In this Perspective, space researchers at the RAND Corporation identify space sustainability, security, and governance concepts that they believe are worthy of future research.

Report

Not the X-Files: Mapping Public Reports of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Across America

This report provides findings on U.S. locations where unidentified aerial phenomena are being reported to increase awareness about the types of activities that might be mistaken for unexplained phenomena or that point to potential threats.

Report

Opportunities and Risks of 5G Military Use in Europe

The authors consider U.S. military uses of the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular communications in a notional 2030 time frame, concentrating on a future smart logistics mission in the Baltics and surrounding countries.

Report

Technological Approaches to Human Performance Enhancement

This report provides an examination of three possible modalities for generating human performance enhancement: genetic modifications, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Bodies approaches (implanted or worn devices are connected to a network).

Journal Article

Research in Mathematics and Public Policy

This volume features a variety of research projects at the intersection of mathematics and public policy. The topics included here fall in the areas of cybersecurity and climate change.

Report

The Internet of Bodies: Opportunities, Risks, and Governance

"Smart" devices are increasingly being used to monitor the human body. The authors examine these technologies; explore benefits, risks, and ethical implications; survey the regulatory landscape; and make recommendations to balance risks and rewards.

Report

Joint All-Domain Command and Control for Modern Warfare: An Analytic Framework for Identifying and Developing Artificial Intelligence Applications

The authors examine and recommend opportunities for applying artificial intelligence and, more broadly, automation to deliberate planning for joint all-domain command and control for the U.S. Air Force.

Report

Robust and Resilient Logistics Operations in a Degraded Information Environment

The U.S. Air Force asked RAND Project AIR FORCE to examine how tactics, techniques, and procedures should change to improve an airman's ability to detect, evaluate, and mitigate significant corruption of logistics data.