The US Government Plans to Genetically Engineer Plants to Spy on People

(ANTIMEDIA) — The government’s newest surveillance program will use plants as instruments of data collection, according to a new report from the military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The program is specifically intended to assist operatives on the battlefield. The project, named Advanced Plant Technologies (APT), seeks to turn plants into next-generation surveillance technology.

In a statement, the agency said:

“The program will pursue technologies to engineer robust, plant-based sensors that are self-sustaining in their environment and can be remotely monitored using existing hardware…detect[ing] the presence of certain chemicals, pathogens, radiation, and even electromagnetic signals.”

DARPA will use gene-editing techniques to reconfigure plants to make them capable of reacting to certain types of stimuli in the environment. These plant-based sensors are self-sustaining and will be remotely monitored by the government agency. While the program will affect the plants’ genomes, it will not alter their ability to thrive in their natural environments.

“Plants are highly attuned to their environments and naturally manifest physiological responses to basic stimuli such as light and temperature, but also in some cases to touch, chemicals, pests, and pathogens,” said APT program manager Blake Bextine in the agency’s press release.

“Emerging molecular and modeling techniques may make it possible to reprogram these detection and reporting capabilities for a wide range of stimuli, which would not only open up new intelligence streams, but also reduce the personnel risks and costs associated with traditional sensors.”

DARPA, sometimes called the Pentagon’s Brain, has long been known for developing innovative but arguably dangerous technologies, including weaponized Agent Orange, covert data mining, anti-protesting weapons, and specially trained war mercenaries. With regard specifically to surveillance and data collection, DARPA has collaborated with the NSA to monitor video game players, developed biosurveillance tools, produced the notorious Total Information Awareness system. That system was responsible for the NSA’s PRISM program, which violated the civil liberties of millions of Americans.

These programs all started under the auspices of benevolent innovation. Once again, we see the complex dynamic between facilitating national security and preserving civil liberties, as one can easily question whether these plant censors could be used for domestic data collection or if they could be modified for other means.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has acted as a sort of de facto technological watchdog over government and corporate programs, has previously issued critical statements regarding DARPA and other government agencies like the NSA. In one instance, they listed several questions for researchers exploring new and potentially dangerous technologies, including considerations about their security and whether or not they can be exploited. They concluded:

“To be clear, we’re not saying that researchers should stop innovating in cases where the answers to those questions are more pessimistic. Rather, we’re saying that they may want to take precautions proportional to the risk.”

They have urged experts in the field “to fully think through the ramifications of new research as it’s conducted.”

When it comes to developing new forms of surveillance, if we can be certain of anything, it’s that the government will not voluntarily relinquish its self-appointed power to monitor its citizens — so vigilance on everyone’s behalf is necessary.

(RELATED: If You Don’t Know What DARPA Is, You Should Probably Read This)

Creative Commons / Anti-Media / Report a typo

Automation Nation: America"s Largest Employer "Secretly" Tests Self-Driving Floor-Scrubbers

Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon, America’s middle class must come to the realization that the country’s largest employer–Walmart is quietly testing an army of robots that soon will replace their jobs. The latest installment is an autonomous floor scrubber being tested at five store locations near the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The autonomous cleaning robot dubbed Emma, an A.I. navigated system capable of operating floor care equipment on nightshifts, is able to clean the entire store front without human interaction. San Diego-based startup Brain Corp., works with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop novel machine learning algorithms that focus on taking jobs from middle class Americans. BrainOS is the company’s flagship product that enables robots to “perceive their environments, control motion, and navigate using visual cues and landmarks, while seeing and avoiding people and obstacles”.

A Walmart spokesperson, Kory Lundberg, confirmed to Chip Cutter, Managing editor at LinkedIn, that Walmart was indeed testing the robotic scrubbers, but said it is still in a “proof of concept” phase.

“We’re always testing new ideas and new technology,” Lundberg said. “We still have a lot more to learn about how this technology will work best for our different retail locations.”

According to LinkedIn, here are more details documenting the ‘secret tests’ of robotic scrubbers at various Supercenters..

Multiple employees who work at the retailer’s 24-hour Supercenter in Pineville, Mo., about 20 minutes north of Walmart’s home office, confirmed the use of the device to me this week, saying it had been tested in their store for about a month this fall.

 

In a private Facebook group earlier this month, someone who claims to be a worker at the Pineville store shared a photo of the greyish vehicle making a turn near a display for $78 deer feeders. No one is seated in the driver’s seat, and two “caution, cleaning in progress” banners are shown on both sides of the device. An ICE logo is also affixed; Holland, Mich.-based International Cleaning Equipment, a Brain Corp. partner, manufactures the scrubbing equipment itself.  

In October, Walmart said it’s rolling out self-scanning robots in more than 50 U.S. stores to replenish inventory on shelves. The company is determined to automate the daily tasks of its workers, but said the bots would not lead to a drop in headcount.

With the retail apocalypse in full-swing, “retailers are looking for opportunities to automate processes and stop paying people,” said Richard A. Feinberg, a professor of consumer sciences and retailing at Purdue University, who forecasts automation could save retailers such as Walmart.

He also noted, “it changes the nature of the jobs; it may not mean fewer jobs, it may mean they can retrain the people to do things that are more useful for them, business wise,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it reduces headcount, but I don’t know.”

More importantly, a Walmart spokesperson said “the maintenance team is actually quite ‘excited’ to work with new technology.” What they don’t know is that their jobs will be obsolete in a few years after the 50 state rollout commences. All fun in games today until someone gets a pink slip.

As Fox News reports, Walmart is not the only company testing this technology..

According to Phil Duffy, VP of Innovation & Marketing for Brain Corporation, the company is currently working with approximately 50 malls and big box retailers across the U.S.

 

“We are also in airports, educational campuses, corporate campuses and industrial sites. In addition, we will be launching in Japan, through our partner, SoftBank Robotics, by summer 2018,” Duffy said.  

In a preview of what’s to come, Brain Corp., funded by DARPA is leading the charge through Walmart, America’s largest employer to automate low skill jobs. The middle class or what is left of them have many dark and difficult days ahead, as we expect this trend to gain momentum in the coming years.