August 2, 2018 8:16 pm

Friday, We Go Inside DARPA – Where Science Fiction Meets National Defense

Do you dream of working for a government agency that mixes reality, science fiction, and national defense to create next-generation technology and ideas that eventually shape the way we operate as a society? Well, then maybe DARPA is for you.

On this week’s episode of StarTalk Radio, Neil deGrasse Tyson explores the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) alongside comic co-host Chuck Nice, journalist Sharon Weinberger, and former head of DARPA Arati Prabhakar. We cover it all, from particle beams to Siri.

“DARPA research laid the foundation for some of the most valuable non-military technology that influences civilization today.” You’ll hear about the history of DARPA: how it got started, some of the first (and crazy) ideas it researched, and what advancements it helped shepherd throughout history. You’ll learn about ARPANET, which included the very early underpinnings of the Internet we know and use today.

We explore DARPA’s history of space-based projects and the importance of space. You’ll hear about spy satellites, the Boeing X-37 orbital spaceplane, and how space remains a complicated domain.

Then, roboticist Hod Lipson joins the crew to discuss the merger of artificial intelligence and the physical world. We talk about self-driving cars and how DARPA would embrace them in their research. Chuck takes to the streets of NYC to ask citizens how they feel about the idea of self-driving cars infiltrating our society. Not to mention we answer fan-submitted Cosmic Queries about the future of artificial intelligence.

Lastly, we explore the dark side of defense technology and how neuroscience will play a factor in the future of national defense. As Neil says, “…to prejudge what will be used for good or for evil, that is really up to society and how wise are we as a society to even receive such discoveries.”

Please join us tomorrow night for Inside DARPA – Sci-Fi Meets National Defense at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen