DARPA Workshops
Workshop 1 – DARPA Symbiotic Division of Policy + Technology for Emerging Technologies
On February 10th and 11th, the University of California Berkeley hosted a two-day virtual workshop on Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS). There were four panels with topics consisting of Responsible and Transparent Human Operations, Safe Protocols and Policies for Communications and Cryptography, Protecting and Evolving the Air Traffic Control System, and Ensuring Trustable and Knowable Autonomy.
The first day of the workshop consisted of a 45-minute keynote opening session with Jen Easterly, Director of CISA, about the mismatch in development of technology and policy, developing security risks. The keynote was followed by two two-hour panels, broken up by a 90-minute discussion and 30-minute audience Q&A. The second day of the workshop consisted of two additional two-hour panels and a 45-minute closing session. Each panel had one moderator and three panelists.
Publication
Emerging Technology and Policy Co-Design Considerations for the Safe and Transparent Use of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems
Ritwik Gupta, Alexander Bayen, Sarah Rohrschneider, Adrienne Fulk, Andrew Reddie, Sanjit A. Seshia, Shankar Sastry, Janet Napolitano
The rapid technological growth observed in the sUAS sector over the past decade has been unprecedented and has left gaps in policies and regulations to adequately provide for a safe and trusted environment in which to operate these devices. The Center for Security in Politics at UC Berkeley, via a two-day workshop, analyzed these gaps by addressing the entire sUAS vertical. From human factors to autonomy, we recommend a series of steps that can be taken by partners in the academic, commercial, and government sectors to reduce policy gaps introduced in the wake of the growth of the sUAS industry.
Workshop 2
– DARPA Reforming Disaster Response
On September 19th, the University of California, Berkeley in partnership with UC Disaster Resilience Network hosted a virtual workshop titled “Wildfire Response: Integrated Policies and Data-Driven Decisions.” The workshop focused on a wildfire scenario and a discussion on disaster resilience, humanitarian assistance, and technology.
Trustworthy Disaster Response: Technology, Policy, and Society
Ritwik Gupta, Shankar Sastry, Janet Napolitano
Natural disasters are increasingly common around the world and occur unexpectedly, leaving communities in distress and requiring swift and effective responses. As natural disasters such as fires, floods, and tornadoes unfold, the trust between citizens and their government, and trust among citizens themselves, is critical to shaping the outcomes of disaster response efforts.
Trust is multifaceted, encompassing both the reliance on societal structures and the confidence in the technologies and policies that facilitate disaster management. This paper explores the importance of trust in disaster response, examining the interplay between technology, policy, and society. By analyzing the agencies, technologies, and policies involved in disaster response, especially in multi-party settings such as joint agency responses, we aim to shed light on the uncertainties associated with their outputs and how they influence the actions of affected populations.