Risk Roundup

Dr. Hans C. Mumm, recipient of one of the “Ten Outstanding Young American Award”, “American Patriot Ingenuity Award,” a senior Intelligence Officer/Cybersecurity professional with over 27 years of progressively challenging positions within the advanced (emerging and disruptive) technology fields and information technology arenas at National Intelligence (ODNI) the National Security Council (NSC), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  participates in Risk Roundup to give a talk on “The Rise Of Autonomous Weapons Systems.”

The Rise Of Autonomous Weapons Systems

War is considered essential to resolving large-scale conflicts, and perhaps that is the reason we fight battles in all shapes and sizes. But unfortunately, this understanding also brings us a realization that while wars were there yesterday, they still exist today and will be there tomorrow as well.

With reference to wars, while war promotes the harm to and death of systems, infrastructure, and human beings, most humans still view human life as priceless. So, the rise of Autonomous Weapons Systems, which are human-independent systems that apply lethal force to a targeted opponent during any war, means that these rapidly evolving weapon systems can pick and engage any military targets without any further intervention by a human (operator) once activated. It fundamentally changes the dynamics of warfare and war implications.

While it is still difficult to grasp, the reality is that the autonomous systems for warfare are here. So, the question is whether, in the context of war, are fully autonomous weaponry machines intelligent soldiers or the ticking time bomb for humanity?

Uncrewed Missions

From mechanized systems to automated systems and now autonomous weapons systems that bring intelligence to military machines so they can sense, plan and act in a changing environment are on the rise. However, for those new to the topic, autonomous machines are made up of many intelligent systems working together (from different developers, different programs, and different locations) without any credible oversight or means to audit other parts and functions that can sense, plan, and act based on changing variables for the designated mission. In addition, the capability of self-operating autonomous systems and their application domains have expanded significantly in recent years, and no one is aware of each country’s potential. Also, the democratization of innovation has added to the complex dynamics of lone individuals having the ability to develop lethal weapons.  

With the rapid advances in emerging technologies, countries increasingly rely on uncrewed air, space, and ground systems over the years to carry out complex missions with little oversight. And therefore, when autonomous systems are in the process of being weaponized and used on active military targets—the need for trusted, verifiable, self-learning autonomous systems is here. The need for high-integrity algorithms is also here. The need for audit capabilities is also here. However, in the absence of any risk management framework, the question is whether we can fully trust the self-learning, fully autonomous weapons systems without having the capabilities to audit the algorithms and all their hidden layers and programs to protect against any future threats to not only respective countries but also the very future of humanity.

Undoubtedly, autonomous systems promise us a future filled with efficiency, productivity, convenience, and comfort of self-driving cars, humanoid robots, and delivery drones to spy drones. However, while the underlying technology continues to mature at a rapid pace, and autonomous systems play a massive role in civilian and military applications, we need to understand that we have created an entirely new species without having an adequate understanding of our own algorithm and its evolution (a comparative language of the human operating system as compared to the artificial intelligence operating system). It is up to our ideas and imagination to visualize where this evolving comparative understanding will take us in the future.

It is also crucial to realize that this is not any ordinary technology from some distant future; this transformative technology with enormous implications for humanity’s future is already here. There are countless examples of intelligent autonomous technologies impacting the world today. While various levels of autonomy observed across industries can be leveraged in different scenarios, the decision-making autonomy where humans are sidelined is the one that causes great concern. For instance, Advisory Autonomy and Assistive Autonomy have humans in the loop. However, Autonomy for Decision-Makingfocuses on developing intelligent systems that can physically operate in complex environments with no or minimal human supervision. Again, that is a cause of great concern.

Complex Challenges and Risks

Any autonomous system is more than an algorithm where hundreds or thousands of decisions/actions/suggestions can orchestrate to reach any final decision for any given task or command. While there is not a straightforward algorithm but several trained A.I. models that work together to control and optimize real-world systems intelligently, many complex challenges and risks arise that must be evaluated further. For instance:

1. Do we know where problems can emerge?
2. How do autonomous weapons systems define and decide which goals are worthy of pursuing?
3. Since autonomous weapons systems cannot be punished in a meaningful way just yet, how would we prioritize accountability?
4. Should humans have a right to know whether they are dealing with a human being or with an autonomous system?
5. Should there be a limit to what intelligent autonomous systems can suggest to humans?
6. What societal and ethical issues are emerging?
7. Can fully autonomous weaponry ethically take human life in the context of war?
8. What legal implications of autonomous systems that we need to be mindful about?
9. What are some ongoing initiatives toward the formulation of ethics of autonomous systems?
10. What questions do these systems bring for the future of humanity?

Now is the time to discuss the Rise Of Autonomous Weapons Systems to safeguard our individual and collective future!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About The Distinguished Guest Speaker

Dr. Hans C. Mumm is senior intelligence officer/cybersecurity professional with over 27 years of progressively challenging positions within the advanced (emerging and disruptive) technology fields and information technology arenas. Dr. Mumm has led highly visible, high-pressure projects in autonomous systems research, artificial intelligence (A.I.) 5G initiatives, and cybersecurity/risk management programs for the intelligence community, including the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the National Security Council (NSC), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).      

Dr. Mumm’s research extends into emerging and disruptive technology for offensive and defensive missions supporting U.S. and coalition operations. His expertise focuses on determining the specific uses, exceptions, and allowances for robotics operations, including studying the unintended consequences, future applications, and misuse of such technologies. In addition, Dr. Mumm has created solutions to the U.S.’s need to adopt an integrated autonomous infrastructure that would allow a dynamic, cross-sector risk management process through private-public partnerships to transform the outdated U.S. transportation infrastructure.

Dr. Mumm was entered into U.S. Congressional Record (E1201-E1202 Sept 5, 2018) for his decades of dedication and service to the United States of America. He has earned twenty-three personal military ribbons/medals, including six military unit medals/citations and two Directors Awards, from the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 2016 he was awarded the People of Distinction Humanitarian Award and a U.S. Patent and Trademark for How to Harmonize the Speed of Innovation and Change with the Human Spirit’s Need for Leadership. In 2005, Dr. Mumm was recognized as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Americans,” and in 2003, he was awarded the National Defense PAC “American Patriot Ingenuity Award” for his service during “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002, which evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. She is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks from the National Science Foundation to leading organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription on the Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post The Rise Of Autonomous Weapons Systems appeared first on Risk Group.

Prof. Dr. Aman Agarwal, a world-renowned expert in Economics, Senior Vice Chairman, and Dean at the Indian Institute of Finance participated in Risk Roundup to discuss the Emerging Economic Crisis.

Emerging Economic Crisis

Many countries’ economies have been facing turmoil since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic. From on and off lockdowns and resulting supply chain disruptions, the reality of the volatile situation has led us to the edge of a looming economic crisis. It has been aggravated further by the Russia-Ukraine war and the rapidly escalating emerging technologies’ geopolitical powerplay. As a result, many countries are on their way to facing an economic crisis that would likely result in profound political and societal instability.

The emerging economic crisis and the imminent collapse of many countries have global implications not only because of destabilization of the countries and potential mass migration of its citizens but also because the future of humanity will be at risk.

The Global Economic Growth Gloom

The global economic growth gloom is proliferating beyond 2022. To add to the woe, inflation remains unusually high across most countries. Surprisingly, both developed and developing economies are feeling the heat.

For instance, according to the data publicly available,

• US inflation: is at 9.1 percent
• Britain’s inflation: is at 9.1 percent
• Germany’s inflation: is at 8.7 percent
• India’s inflation: is at 7.04 percent
• Pakistan’s inflation: is at 13.8 percent
• Sri Lanka’s inflation: is at 39.1 percent
• Iran’s inflation: is at 52.5%
• Argentina’s inflation: is at 60%
• Turkey’s inflation: is at 78.62
• Lebanon’s inflation: is at 211%

So, the question is that while developed economies have the resources to weather the impact of the growing inflation, how are emerging economies struggling with the ever-increasing inflation? It is becoming evident that many economies face simultaneous blows from all directions. As seen, many countries are experiencing stagnant or slow growth. They are also experiencing high inflation (referred to as stagflation–a situation where prices keep rising while economic growth slumps). Moreover, the currencies are depreciating, and the exchange value of a country’s currency against the other currencies in a floating rate system is rapidly declining. It is crucial to understand that supply shock, poor fiscal and monetary policies, and high unemployment play a critical role in stagflation. As a result, the fear of stagflation is growing. The question is, where will the stagflation take the countries and the global economy.

The concerns are growing that as economies slow down, the overall disposable income negatively impacts most households. But, at the same time, everyone (individuals and institutions) still has to spend more on the same products and services because of the soaring prices. So, not only the consumers’ spending but businesses’ spending also understandably slow down to adjust to their income. Moreover, when consumers buy fewer things, revenue also declines for companies. Besides, investment decisions are usually halted at all levels during an uncertain period. So, the question is, what should countries do to combat the coming stagflation.

The Complex Challenges

Economic progress has not come equally to many countries so far. Amid the lack of sustainable economic security that can hold all citizens and governments together, the reality is that the decision-makers are unable to unify against the common threats facing countries. As a result, most citizens in the collapsing countries fear they have no hope but to flee the country. The reality is that:

• Inflation is increasing
• The currencies are collapsing
• Investments have slowed down
• Unemployment is rising
• The food crisis is also emerging

Millions of people across many countries are on the brink of famine as food, fuel, and fertilizer costs have increased. No nation will be immune to such a catastrophe’s social and economic repercussions from the coming global food shortage.   Amid growing challenges, countries are reverting to the controls of the past. Citizens are not convinced about their future, as shown by their forward-looking national governments. As a result, societal collapse is emerging with the economic collapse we witness in Sri Lanka and many other nations.

Understanding emerging economic crises is an opportunity to question the ongoing hybrid warfare worldwide and whether the power play behind the geopolitics of emerging technologies will bring down our civilization. Now is the time to discuss the implications of the emerging economic crisis to safeguard our individual and collective future!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Prof. Aman Aggarwal is a renowned Economist and a Senior Vice-Chairman at the Indian Institute of Finance.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002, which evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. She is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks from the National Science Foundation to leading organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription on the Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post Emerging Economic Crisis appeared first on Risk Group.

Prof. (Dr.) John Torday, a Developmental Physiologist from UCLA with a strong interest in how and why physiology has evolved, participates in Risk Roundup to talk about Enlightenment 2.0.

Beyond Arts and Science-Driven Enlightenment 1.0

While Enlightenment 1.0 (arts and sciences driven) began in the 17th century, humanity is now at a crossroads. Much of it seems to be due to the growing disconnect between leadership and self-serving agenda, science and activism, systems and sustainability, and more.

The world is witnessing not only the power struggle between the political ideologies, the geopolitics of the emerging technologies, the impact of technology transformation, globalists versus nationalists, culture warriors to climate warriors, changing nature of religion, and more. Unfortunately, the battle of ideas and ideologies is dividing not only citizens but also countries, leading to the rapid rise of pessimism and intolerance. Furthermore, dual-use technologies, the controlling communication power of social media, and the growing source of information are becoming a cause of great concern.

As seen across most nations, the systems at all levels are becoming increasingly divisive. The divisiveness is not just due to political ideologies but also due to changing models, globalization, and more. Interestingly, while the globalists are organized and prepared in the ongoing battle, the nationalists seem to be gathering momentum as well. So, who is winning the fight, should this be the battle, and where is humanity going?

It is crucial to understand that scientific knowledge has not been the only driver of political decision-making over the years. Cultural beliefs, emotions, self-interest, and values have all played their role in nations’ political discourse and decision-making that is increasingly becoming more divisive, complex, transnational, instrumentalized, agenda-driven, and short-sighted than ever, bringing into question the very nature of human existence.

The Growing Need For Purpose-Driven Enlightenment 2.0

Science has become a deductive practice, and the Enlightenment 1.0 that the western world enjoyed over the years is waning due to our lack of effort in understanding and focusing on the meaning of life. There is a need for a new approach to Enlightenment, to focus on an eastern knowledge and understanding of the essence of our existence and how our individual purpose ties into it.

To be specific, there is a need for revitalizing the dormant ancestral memory in each of us to provide guidance and clarity on what everyone should spend their time, energy, and focus on. Because to evolve our universe, we need to advance our ancestral lineage and have the means to remember and revitalize our ancestral memory. We need to understand our purpose, and we need to finish the work our ancestors started. It is where Enlightenment 2.0 should focus on.

Now is the time to discuss developing tools and technology to drive Enlightenment 2.0 to safeguard our individual and collective future!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Prof. John S. Torday is a Developmental Physiologist from UCLA based in the United States. His lung development career was launched four decades ago by the serendipitous finding that a simple molecule like cortisol could effectively accelerate fetal lung development. This phenomenon changed reproductive medicine overnight, reducing the preterm infant mortality rate from as high as 70% to nearly zero for preterm births. As a working scientist, this made no sense but was impossible to ignore- why should hormones have anything to do with the respiratory system? On the other hand, such chance findings are essentially the history of biomedical research. He thinks that such paradoxes prevail because we are using the wrong logic. He believes that making biology and medicine rational and predictive is by reducing cell biology evolution, as shown in his book Evolutionary Biology, Cell-Cell Communication, and Complex Disease. 

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002, which evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. She is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks from the National Science Foundation to leading organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription on the Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post What Should Be The Focus Of Enlightenment 2.0? appeared first on Risk Group.

Dr. Hynd Bouhia, President, CEO, Author, Mentor, and Forbes 100 most powerful women in the world, participate in Risk Roundup to talk about “Need To Build Sustainability Into Business Practices.”

Background

Today, nations and their economies rely entirely on the human environment and ecosystem. The reason is that the human ecosystem plays a central role in all human services—and without the essential environmental resources, humans cannot survive.

But it is no secret that the environment is not just ours—for those of us living today. The environment belongs to all life today, tomorrow, and forever. So, it is time to evaluate the interconnectedness between human existence, environment, and economy to help us strategize how to build sustainability in everything we do. And for that, assessing the implications of our actions today that will shape our coming tomorrow is essential.

Planet Earth

The reason is that the planet Earth is our only home today for the entire human civilization. The environment provides life support functions to the Earth’s inhabitants. While human society may end up becoming multi-planetary species in the future, at this point, we have no other place to go if Earth becomes inhabitable.

So, the question is:

• What could go wrong on our planet?
• What has the ecology of our planet got to do with the economy?

To understand that we should first consider planet Earth as a system. We also must realize that all living organisms, including the human species, receive inputs from the environment in the form of air, food, and water. Not only that, each one of us gives off outputs in the form of excrement that goes back to the environment. So, any resource deprivation from the environment in the form of input is fatal.

Similarly, depriving the ability to dispose of any output is also fatal. Therefore, we need to stop believing that we live on virtually infinite environmental resources that will provide limitless input to human systems and understand the potential implications of the known limits of human habitation, production, and consumption.

Need For Economic Analysis

Environmental Economics, the study of the allocation of scarce resources, markets function, and incentives affecting individual and institutions’ behavior, gives us a foundation to further our understanding of sustainability needs and solutions.

The need to change individual and institutions’ behavior needs to deal with several issues beyond inefficient natural resource allocation, market failure, externalities, and management of resources and incorporate accountability in human action and decision.

Understanding how well-defined metrics affect individuals’ and institutions’ behavior is necessary. We need to develop improved methods for measuring the economic consequences of individuals’ and institutions’ environmental outcomes. We also need to formulate models to explain the various economic activities and their external effects. The main objective is to:

• bring accountability in individuals’ and institutions’ actions and decisions
• maintain a balance between economic development and environmental protection
• move beyond static problems of market behavior
• build dynamic decision-making sustainability score that unlocks benefits for individuals and institutions

Sustainable development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is a need of time. Risk Group, therefore, proposes developing Sustainability Score.

Sustainability Score

A Sustainability Score will indicate that the individuals and institutions can be trusted with their actions and decisions to protect the environment. Therefore, the proposed system should focus on individuals’ and institutions’ accountability towards the environment and be integrated with current and emerging systems.

• A Sustainability Score can be assigned values and will help build individual and institutional capacity for accountability.
• A sustainability score can be defined and developed to measure what individuals and institutions are willing to do to protect the environment.
• The Sustainability score can be realized in the future for college admissions, job interviews, credit, loans, and much more.

The Sustainability Score should also be an integral part of Environmental Economics and focus primarily on how and why individuals and institutions make decisions that affect the natural environment. The benefits of developing a system of Sustainability Score will be enormous—not only for building but also for helping shape sustainability and protect the future of humanity. Now is the time to develop a Sustainability Score to safeguard our collective future!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Dr. Hynd has a Harvard Ph.D., an engineering diploma, several years of experience in finance and strategy, and several international awards and recognitions. She is the President & CEO – Professor, Mentor & Author of Economic Intelligence & Sustainable Finance, and Forbes has listed Dr. Bouhia among the 100 most powerful women.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. She is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks from the National Science Foundation to leading organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription on the Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post Need To Build Sustainability Into Business Practices appeared first on Risk Group.

Prof. Dr. Alfredo Toro Hardy, a retired Venezuelan diplomat, scholar, and author of multiple books, participates in Risk Roundup to talk about his new book, “America’s Two Cold Wars: From Hegemony to Decline?”

Is America in Decline?

As we witness the world at war, it is vital to understand that warfare itself is going through a fundamental transformation. From conventional warfare, the world is already moving towards hybrid warfare. As a result, while some wars like the Ukraine-Russian crisis are visible, much of the conflict is not visible to most of us.

So, when we evaluate the ongoing warfare in Syria, Russia, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Africa to China, we realize that much has changed in the warfare terrain, tools, and ecosystem. The most significant change is that we are no longer dealing with conventional warfare, but we are witnessing the rise of asymmetric hybrid warfare and the return of the cold war.

Now, over the years, the world has witnessed countless conflicts. For example, the world has seen Islam v the West; regional conflicts versus global disputes; civil war versus religious warfare; ethnic versus sectarian conflicts; progressive versus conservatives, and so on. So, with each battle, the players are different, the motives are other, and so are the warfare tools. The growing geopolitical theories raise a reality check on the rise of the West’s battles with the rest of the world. Undoubtedly, America is a symbol of the West, and it represents the West, so to speak. Since geopolitical stability is foundational for global progress and development, the return of the Cold War creates panic as these wars appear to have no end.

Book Review: America’s Two Cold Wars: From Hegemony to Decline?

America’s Two Cold Wars is a thoughtful, logical, and highly-readable thought leadership. Dr. Hardy has masterfully brought to light an excellent overview of the USSR’s collapse and China’s emergence on the global stage. In addition, Prof. Hardy emphasizes how China is different as a strategic competitor compared to what we have faced with the Soviet Union over the years. Finally, he brings to light how different the United States is today than when it confronted the Soviet Union.  

The book reminds us that the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States had ideology as its core underpinning element. So, as we evaluate the coming cold war 2.0, it is crucial to understand what has shifted and how has the ideology evolved—and what is the focus?

The book states that “Efficiency” is the defining element of the new Cold War. And that contrary to the comparative advantage enjoyed by the United States in its ideological contest with the Soviets, Prof. Hardy believes that the U.S. is poorly prepared for a competition framed in terms of “Efficiency.” One of the main reasons is that many of America’s domestic problems have been left unchecked for a long time.

The book also reminds us that in the final phase of World War II, a network of multilateral organizations, initiatives, and alliances began to take shape under America’s auspices. Through this network, the U.S. positioned itself at the head of a powerful hegemonic system where its legitimacy was sustained by consensual acquiescence. The spectrum of U.S. allies was as diverse as its capability to articulate the system on behalf of its Cold War aims. The question is whether the U.S. alliances and institutions will evolve in the coming years. It is crucial to evaluate this as the two decades that succeeded the end of WWII represented the golden age of America’s foreign policy. So the question is, what will be the U.S. influence in the coming years? It is especially fundamental to understand that America’s foreign policy consistency is inexistent today.

The book brings to light the harsh reality that China accounts for twenty-five percent of the global industrial output. It contributes around one-third of the world’s economic growth. It will surpass America’s GDP in absolute terms in a few years, while it already did so in Purchasing Power Parity. After 2030 it is estimated that a gap will begin accruing on China’s behalf who; by mid-century, it could attain a GDP three times larger than that of America. Hence, China’s possibility of outspending U.S. military budgets at will is likely going to be real.

The book also reminds us that the U.S. emerged from WWII as the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nation. However, today, when every country is trying to globalize its values, culture, and heritage, the question remains whether America will be able to see or maintain its protection through its desired values. It is especially concerning as Prof. Hardy reminds us that the United States had the wind on its back during the first Cold War, with all the right configuration of elements supporting it. Today, the playing field is not conducive for America, and nor is the consistency of purpose clear. Moreover, the support base is faltering, as true allies are scarce, and its credibility among them has reached a historical low. The consistency of purpose is weak, as its political parties inhabit different foreign policy planets and its society is utterly polarized. It is a perfect storm. This important book is a must-read and should be at the forefront of our Foreign Policy and International Relations Strategy.

Now is the time to understand America’s Growing Wars and evaluate whether America is in Decline!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

ALFREDO TORO HARDY is a Venezuelan retired diplomat, scholar, and author. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Affairs, two master’s degrees in international law and international economics from the University of Pennsylvania and the Central University of Venezuela, a post-graduate diploma in diplomatic studies by the Ecole Nationale D’Administration (ENA) and a Bachelor of Law degree by the Central University of Venezuela. Before resigning from the Venezuelan Foreign Service in protest of events taking place in his country, he was one of its most senior career diplomats. As such, he served as Ambassador to the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Singapore, Chile, and Ireland. He directed the Diplomatic Academy of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as other Venezuelan academic institutions in the field of international affairs. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations and has been a Visiting Professor at the universities of Princeton and Brasilia and an online Professor at the University of Barcelona. He has also been a Fulbright Scholar, a two-time Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Resident Scholar, and an academic advisor on diplomatic studies at the University of Westminster. He has authored twenty-one books and co-authored fifteen more on international affairs and history while publishing thirty peer-reviewed papers on the same subjects.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. She is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks from the National Science Foundation to leading organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription on the Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post Is America In Decline? appeared first on Risk Group.

Dr. Partha Ghosh, author of the new book India Towards 100: A Call for Reset, participated in Risk Roundup to discuss the Need For An Alternative Socioeconomic Model.

Need For An Alternative Socioeconomic Model

Emerging technologies are revolutionizing every aspect of society. The rapidly emerging technological tsunami in all human domains has leveled the playing field and brought countries an unprecedented possibility of progress.

History says that there has never been a lasting empire or civilization. The world as we see it is full of the debris of past empires. Today, cyberspace has brought each country to a juncture of revival and reformation or inevitable decline. So when the world is undergoing a profound and lasting shift in the relative balance of power due to the geopolitics of emerging technologies and the changing power dynamics, it is necessary to understand where we are going. 

Because it is a known fact that nations generally fall from within, and the downfall is perhaps due to being unable to take advantage of their society’s substantial socio-economic potential for growth. However, what is more, tragic is that this kind of failure is essentially caused by the structural design of tilted and biased systems.

So, when we look at the different aspects of how each country has evolved over the years and what mistakes were made, the lessons will help us to better tomorrow.

Complex Challenges

Undoubtedly, there are complex challenges. Nations today face myriad challenges of inclusive and sustainable growth, requiring a paradigm shift in our systems and models. As a result, there is a need to define new ways, models, and systems to develop an alternative economy.

The challenges ahead are significant, but equally notable are the possibilities. Therefore, we must pause and evaluate how to overcome the obstacles. Then, with a new mindset, new tools, and constructive energy, we must explore the new horizons of technology transformation, cultural clashes, and socioeconomic problems. Together, we need to find new pathways that will accelerate the global socioeconomic progress towards a more enlightened state of humanity. The time is now to discuss the need for an alternative socioeconomic model!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Partha S. Ghosh is a policy advisor and a strategist for Corporates and Governments. He is known worldwide as an innovator of Business and Economic models and currently enjoys advisory relationships with multiple organizations in more than half a dozen nations. Earlier, Mr. Ghosh was a partner at McKinsey & Company and is the founder/Managing director of the Strategy/Policy advisory firm Partha S. Ghosh & Associates. He has also chaired several startups such as Boston Analytics, Global-Online, and Intersoft Japan.

He has two advanced Engineering (MS) and Management (MBA) degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did his undergraduate work at the Indian Institute of Technology.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. She is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks from the National Science Foundation to leading organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription on the Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post Need For An Alternative Socioeconomic Model appeared first on Risk Group.

Divya Dwivedi, Founder of JND Charitable Trust and participating advocate at the Supreme Court of India, participate in Risk Roundup to present her insights on Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence.  

Legal Aspects Of Artificial Intelligence

We are learning to live in an age of artificial intelligence. Furthermore, as artificial intelligence changes our way of life, its increasing omnipresence and rapidly expanding potential have spurred the massive automation-driven transformation of the entire human ecosystem. Although the artificial intelligence-driven transformation is welcoming overall, its weaponization, inherent bias in algorithms, and other risks raise complex challenges for law, ethics, corporate, and government policy. Moreover, AI is incredibly feared because we are still trying to understand AI’s broader risks and long-term impact on our species. Therefore, it is crucial to understand different countries’ strategies and their potential paths to effective artificial intelligence regulation.

In this episode of Risk Roundup, the focus is on the complex legal and regulatory challenges of artificial intelligence facing India.

Increasing Role of Artificial Intelligence

Like all countries, the increasing role of AI in the Indian economy and society presents both promise and perils. It is especially when it brings practical and conceptual challenges for the legal system of all countries.So, the question is:

• How India’s legal system addresses the rise of artificial intelligence?
• For AI, what are the fears in India, and where are they originating from?

Some of the shared concerns for all countries perhaps stem from the familiar fears of potential technological unemployment and the possible use of emerging technologies to be misused by humans. However, as AI-driven automation touches the entire human ecosystem, the questions regarding the liability of AI-caused harm will likely grow beyond unemployment. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the legal implications of AI if it causes damage to humans and the human ecosystem.

The reality is that very few laws or regulations exist that specifically address the unique challenges raised by AI. Moreover, it seems virtually no courts across nations appear to have developed legal or judicial standards to specifically address who should be held legally responsible if an AI causes harm.

Also, there are practical challenges about:

• How is AI researched and developed?
• What controls are in place of the actions of autonomous machines?
• Where are the conceptual difficulties in assigning moral and legal responsibility for harm caused by autonomous machines?
• What precisely is artificial intelligence?

The reality is that irrespective of nations, the legal system will struggle to manage the rise of AI. Moreover, at the core is also the problem of attribution. Since research and development of AI are not visible as it is democratized, and it does not require a lot of infrastructures, when anyone in any part of the world could be computing and need only computers and data, it is difficult for regulators to find out who is working on AI and what systems are being developed. So, we must evaluate how to regulate the R & D for artificial intelligence when it is democratized and decentralized. As we evaluate the current form of regulatory bodies and understand the gaps and changes, we also need to visualize how the regulatory bodies will evolve. Now is a time to talk about the Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Divya Dwivedi is the Founder of JND Charitable Trust based in India. She is also participating advocate at the Supreme Court of India.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already conducted more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. From the National Science Foundation to leading organizations from the United States, Europe, and Asia, she is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) formats. It is available for subscription at Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post Legal Aspects Of Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Risk Group.

 Dr. Avinash Singh, a researcher, working at the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney, participates in Risk Roundup to discuss his research on Brain-Computer Interfaces.

The Research Trends In Brain-Computer Interface

Over the years, we have created tools that helped us to interact with the world around us. Now, we are developing the tools to help us interact with the world inside us. So, as the nature of tools has moved beyond from physical to digital, and now neural—our brain is effectively becoming the tool for interaction, communication, influence, and surveillance.

While the transformative innovations of the smartphone, the Internet, social media platforms, and more have changed the world through their respective uses, they are perhaps only a stepping-stone on the path to plugging our brains directly into the web. Although the primary brain-computer interface system has been there for years, there is now a rat race to develop the next generation of the brain-computer interface.

Understanding Brain To Computer Interfaces

Brain-to-computer interfaces are understood to be communication systems that enable a human user to send commands to connected computers through brain signals alone. The connected computers that receive brain signals then read those signals and perform various tasks commanded by the human user. A brain-computer interface (BCI) is also an artificial intelligence system that can recognize a certain set of patterns in brain signals (through hardware and software communications systems) that permits cerebral (brain) activity alone to control connected computers or external devices/machines. Such brain-computer interfaces that are connected to AI would also mean that our actions will flow less from our own judgments and thoughts on what is in our best interests and more from what data and algorithms have decided is best for us.

We are close to commercially available BCIs that human patients can use. In addition, disabled individuals will also be able to control smart devices. They are now one step closer to becoming a reality. Research and development at the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute and elsewhere gives us a promise of applications beyond the production of rehabilitative and assistive devices. New applications will likely emerge that will constantly keep us connected to the Internet. It will also ultimately connect our brains to develop the brain net as well.

When these brain-computer interfaces would enable us to operate connected devices and even human body parts simply by thought, at the same time, the command flow can be in the opposite direction as well. Hackers can hack into our brains, causing enormous security implications. So, the question is whether we are prepared for the outside world to get into our brains and our brains to get into the outside world without filters and controls.

Now is a time to talk about Research Trends in Brain-Computer Interface!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Avinash Singh is a researcher working at the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of Technology Sydney. He works at the intersection of machine learning, cognitive neuroscience, signal processing to design and develop real-world brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. In addition to primary research in BCI, he also actively support and advocate Transhumanism.
About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already carried out more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes for a year in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. From the National Science Foundation to leading organizations from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, she is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in both audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) format. It is available for subscription at Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post The Research Trends In Brain-Computer Interface appeared first on Risk Group.

Mark Elliott, CEO of a Washington-based Consulting Company, Comar Cyber, participates in Risk Roundup to discuss the Insurance Industry’s role in Cybersecurity.

Insurance Industry’s Role In Cybersecurity

Over the years, insurance has become an integral part of major financial decisions for everyone (individuals and institutions) for their risks, resources, and assets in geospace, aquaspace, and space. Moreover, as we create new domains like cyberspace, the role of insurance remains vital for not only financial decisions but also the very foundation of our individual and collective security.

The reason is that irrespective of natural or human-made domains, the risk that reflects the probability of a loss persistently brings complex security challenges for individuals and institutions. Thus, the making of cyberspace has, in fact, fundamentally redefined the security complexities of all connected domains.

So, when cyberspace connects all known human domains and brings individuals and institutions numerous risks, and when one has assets to protect, the threats and vulnerability in security create the potential for financial risks and losses.

Now, the concept of transferring the economic consequences of risk, i.e., the purchasing of insurance protection, is an essential constituent of security and risk management. As a result, evaluating the insurance industry’s role in cyberspace, especially for Cybersecurity, has become essential.

Pooling Risks

The fundamental need for security has permanently been deeply entrenched across human civilization in all known domains. The story of the human race is, in essence, the story of security, and our very existence will never be understood unless security is taken into account.

While the idea of pooling risks originated a long time back, with each subsequent industrialization and the introduction of new tools, technologies, industries, policies, and processes, the insurance industry has developed rapidly over the years. However, with the creation of cyberspace and the onset of platforms, and the digital age, the insurance industry faces complex challenges of insuring digital risks with complex interconnectedness and interdependencies. The question is:

• How would the insurance industry deal with these challenges?
• What kind of new insurance will the cyber-security risks trigger?
• When the essence of insurance is the transfer of risk from the insured to one or more insurers, how much risk does a contract transfer?
• Would cyber-security insurance bring any changes to the way institutions provide insurance models and processes?
• How many risks do the current cyber-security policies transfer?

Minimizing Risk

Insurance has been and is still constantly in demand because individuals and institutions constantly look for new approaches and methodologies to reduce risk. Moreover, because of the growing security risks from cyberspace and increasing demand for new insurance tools, the reality of the narrow choice of insurance policies makes the insurance industry an attractive innovation and investment tool.

In addition, because the level of cyber insurance is concentrated in only specific locations in cyberspace, it could lead to huge losses and chaos in cyberspace and the cyber insurance industry and countries. The reason is that the accumulated effect of the minor collective breaches can lead to system failure. As a result, there is a need for innovation in how the insurance industry repackages its risk in catastrophe-linked cyber securities that mitigate insurers’ risk.

Undoubtedly, the connected computers and internet changed the insurance industry by blowing the insurance field wide open and adding complexity to the security risks.  While cyberspace helps individuals find the cheapest rate, businesses can also shop internationally for the right coverage, and insurance companies can also go global and merge with other financial services. The reality is that the access to global markets and the integration of financial services gives each insurance provider many opportunities and risks. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the risks and opportunities cyberspace brings to individuals, institutions, insurance providers, and industry.

The Role Of Insurance Industry

The fundamental role of the insurance industry is to help eliminate, transfer, or manage risks. Insurance is understood as a contract in which the insurer agrees to compensate or underwrite another insured party for specified loss or damage to a specified risk, resource, asset from specific perils or risks in exchange for a fee for the insurance premium. 

For example, a property insurance company may agree to bear the risk that a particular piece of property in geospace may suffer a specific type or types of damage or loss during a certain period, for instance, hurricane season, in exchange for a fee from the policyholder who would otherwise be responsible for that damage or loss. In cyberspace also related digital assets can be insured similarly. Such agreements commonly take the form of an insurance policy.

However, of all different kinds of insurance available across nations, the question is whether:

• Insurance providers can issue contracts where the risks have interdependencies
• It is possible to manage the interdependencies independently by the policyholders

Moreover, when cyberspace is evolving, and cyber-security risks are evolving:

• How should we define insurance today?
• How would insurance providers define and determine the length of insurance contracts that they can issue for cyber-security risks?
• How would insurance companies insure strategic cyber-security risks?
• How can any single insurance company insure such broad security risks in cyberspace?
• How do small organizations protect themselves from the risks of their digital assets being damaged or destroyed?

All insurance policies ultimately have the same goal—to ease financial burdens when disaster strikes. However, digital disasters are perhaps more in numbers and frequency and probably more in impact and severity. Amid that, the question is when comprehensive cyber policies would be available for consumers.

The bottom line is that the insurance industry will need to be a driver for securing cyberspace and be a key enabler of cyber-security risk management framework issuance, adaptation, and implementation. A partnership of insurance and security-centric cyber-security risk management will form the most effective offense and always be the best defense! So now is a time to talk about Insurance Industry’s Role In Cybersecurity.

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Mark Elliott is the CEO of Comar Cyber, a human factors cybersecurity training company featuring online training courses for corporate and government staff. Prior to that, Mark served for over a decade at the CIA where he worked as an Operations Officer, an operational leader in field assignments, and a manager at CIA Headquarters. He has extensive experience at the intersection of HUMINT operations and technology. Mark worked with companies, investors, and other elements of government to identify, purchase, and create technologies for the CIA’s operational use. He used his extensive training and experience in multiple international and domestic tours to identify and counter nation-state cyber threats to protect enterprise and operational systems at the management and operator levels. 

Prior to joining the CIA, he co-founded an Internet start-up focused on online anonymity and secure communications.  Before that, he served as a State Department Foreign Service officer in Latin America.

Mark holds a B.A. degree in Government from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in National Security Studies from National Defense University with a certificate in cybersecurity.  His thesis was on creating a national cyber civil defense program by using the cybersecurity insurance industry as a market maker for security standards.

Comar Cyber is a human factor cybersecurity training company. Its online and in-person courses were designed by former intelligence operations officers. Comar Cyber trains corporate and government employees to defend against the most common and costly cyber-attacks: the ones that target people. Give your staff the training to fight nation-state and criminal cybersecurity threats. Visit www.ComarCyber.com.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already carried out more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.  

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes for a year in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. From the National Science Foundation to leading organizations from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, she is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in both audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) format. It is available for subscription at Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

Copyright Risk Group LLC. All Rights Reserved

The post What Is The Insurance Industry’s Role in Cybersecurity? appeared first on Risk Group.

Dan Winter, from Fractal University, whose work on the gravitational energy, emotions, evolution of consciousness, sacred geometry, and more has resulted in numerous publications and books, participates in Risk Roundup to give a talk on Negentropy and Prediction.

Understanding Negentropy

Negentropy, a scientific measure of complexity and order, is all around us. It is understood to be the opposite of Entropy—which is a measure of chaos and disorder. While it is the opposite of Entropy, which is basically a measure of chaos and disorder, they are both related and seen in the entire human ecosystem. Therefore, understanding and evaluating Negentropy and applying it to our ability for predictions have become fundamental for our collective security.

So, as we evaluate the human systems in our domains and dimensions, from the financial systems to healthcare systems to the security systems, the question emerges as to how can we apply understanding of Negentropy to predict what is coming our way and fix what is not working.

Based on what we have understood from the second law of thermodynamics, the Universe’s Entropy is continuously increasing. So, what are the implications, and what does it mean for the future of humanity?

When we evaluate the current state, our assumptions, and our predictions, there is no doubt that we are gradually moving towards disorder, and if left unchecked, it will eventually lead to the collapse of our civilization. 

• So, is this where we are headed?
• Or is there a way to repair what is being broken?
• Would the emerging understanding of Negentropy bring us the timely capability to prevent the coming collapse?

Democratization of Destruction and Entropy

Every time we do constructive activities, we create Negentropy. When we create order around us, we create Negentropy. The reason is that things take on a more ordered state than they had previously. However, when we do a destructive activity, we create Entropy. The same goes for building systems that are likely to collapse. It perhaps creates the same amount of Entropy. As we see today in cyberspace, there is a democratization of destruction, and because of cyberspace, the destruction is headed towards all connected domains and dimensions.

• Does this mean Entropy is growing? If yes, where would it lead us, and what can be done?
• So, would the creation of the internet, cyberspace, and artificial intelligence be considered Negentropic creations of humanity or Entropic?
• Will an understanding of Negentropy show us a way to bring climate and atmosphere out of chaos? If not, where would it lead us?

It is also crucial to understand that when systems were created in the past and created again in the digital age, most are still closed systems pushing the Entropy ahead. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the need to build open systems that would grow Negentropy. The reason is, we need abilities to see as far as we can. We need to predict the future of our systems and humanity and the future of the entire cosmos.  The challenge is that today with the tools we have, we cannot see much further. To protect our collective future, we need to be able to see much further. Because there is still so much, we need to know.

Future Of Humanity

Human civilization, its culture, and continuity is a sum total of billions of efforts. If we involve everyone across nations to come together to shape our culture and future, the future of humanity will be much stronger. Unfortunately, we are letting a small group of people decide what our culture should be. We depend on closed systems to shape our universe. So, looking at the current state of humanity, it is crucial to evaluate where our civilization is heading. The reason is that every action and inaction has implications beyond us; every system that is closed or open plays a role in creating disorder and order. So, the question is:

• When we achieve singularity, will artificial consciousness lead us to the experience of human consciousness itself?
• If we design and develop open systems, can we maintain Negentropy and avoid Entropy?
• What is the evolutionary shift in warfare giving us?
• How can humanity emerge from chaos?
• When nothing about human life would exist without Negentropy, how do we ensure education and awareness of the fundamentals of Negentropy to shape and secure the future of humanity?

Now is a time to talk about Negentropy and Prediction!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Dan Winter, from Fractal University, graduated with honors from the University of Detroit. He pursued graduate studies in psychophysiology and the origin of languages. In addition to his academic background, he has worked as a Systems Analyst with IBM, an industrial metallurgist, and crystallographer. He has undertaken many diverse studies, from quantum physics to modeling at the MIT space lab to developing the early biofeedback prototype equipment as Dr. Albert Axe’s protégé. In addition, Dan has lectured on the evolution of consciousness, sacred geometry, and coherent emotion through the years at many national and international conferences. His work on gravitational energy, emotions, the evolution of consciousness, sacred geometry, and more has resulted in numerous publications and books.

About the Host of Risk Roundup
Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt) is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, & security. She is a globally recognized futurist passionate about protecting the Future of Humanity. She serves in the C-Suite of leading emerging technology startups, actively applying her scientific background to designing systems. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology for her 1986-1991 work on Hydrogen Production by Halobacterium halobium, for which she was also awarded a National Young Scientist Award in Biochemistry in 1988-89. In addition, she has done two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Hawaii and another at the University of Chicago.  She also did her Executive Education Program in Operations and Change Management at Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2000 – 2001.  She founded Risk Group LLC in 2002 that evolved into a Strategic Security Risk Research Organization, Platform, and Community in 2015.  She is also the host of the influential Risk Roundup Podcast on a mission to talk to a million decision-makers. She has already carried out more than 260 one-to-one interviews with top decision-makers worldwide. She is now leading the global discussions on emerging technologies, technology transformation, and nation preparedness.  

Her scientific research has contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals. Moreover, her research across many other domains has contributed to more than 100 publications and is pursued to provide strategic security solutions.  She wrote for Forbes for a year in 2019-2020 and now writes regularly for Risk Group. In addition, she has published three Strategic Security Risk Reports and three books, The Global Age, The Quantum Threat, and Geopolitics of Cybersecurity. From the National Science Foundation to leading organizations from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, she is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks. She can be reached at + (832) 971 8322 and followed on Twitter @jayshreepandya and LinkedIn @drjayshreepandya.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in both audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) format. It is available for subscription at Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media.

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate, and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.

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