SINCE the United States military campaign began in Afghanistan, the unmanned spy plane has gone from a bit player to a starring role in Pentagon planning. Rather than the handful of ''autonomous vehicles,'' or A.V.'s, that snooped on Al Qaeda hideouts, commanders are envisioning wars involving vast robotic fleets on the ground, in the air and on the seas -- swarms of drones that will not just find their foes, but fight them, too. But such forces would need an entirely new kind of network in which to function, a wireless Internet in the sky that would let thousands of drones communicate quickly while zooming around a battle zone at speeds of up to 300 miles an hour. Such a network would have to be able to deal instantaneously with the unpredictable conditions of war and cope with big losses. Designing this network is a monumental task.

WHEN most people fight city hall, they attend meetings, circulate petitions or file lawsuits. When Murray Craig, a retired programmer, fought his town council in British Columbia, he picked up his old craft and wrote code. In the end, he created software that his company claims can ''detect government corruption in five minutes.'' The software, called Minutes-N-Motion, applies artificial intelligence to the problem of finding needles in the haystacks of government documents. While standard document-searching software can pinpoint keywords, Mr. Craig's program makes connections to draw conclusions on issues like whether a public official may have acted on a matter presenting a conflict of interest.

Welcome to the robotic age. Long-term federal investments in fundamental science and engineering research, and the researchers who pursue them, have led to novel machines that safely partner with people in nearly every environment. Soon, helping hands are as likely to be made of metal and plastic as flesh and bone.

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 17-1), is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 30, 2017. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 17-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity. Through the Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT) program, the CISE and EHR Directorates of NSF support research that (1) enables radical improvements in learning through innovative computer and information technologies, and (2) advances research in computer science, information technology, learning, and cognitive science through the unique challenges posed by learning environments and learning technology platforms. Integrative research approaches that build across disciplines and establish tight linkages among theory, experiment, and design are strongly encouraged. Technology goals may include systems for tutoring or assessment, modeling and sensing of cognitive or emotional states, context awareness, natural language interfaces, collaboration, knowledge management, and non-traditional goals that redefine the roles of technology in learning.

The Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence (NCARAI) has been involved in both basic and applied research in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, autonomy, and human-centered computing since its inception in 1981. NCARAI, part of the Information Technology Division within the Naval Research Laboratory, is engaged in research and development efforts designed to address the application of artificial intelligence technology and techniques to critical Navy and national problems. The research program of the Center is directed toward understanding the design and operation of systems capable of improving performance based on experience; efficient and effective interaction with other systems and with humans; sensor-based control of autonomous activity; and the integration of varieties of reasoning as necessary to support complex decision-making. The emphasis at NCARAI is the linkage of theory and application in demonstration projects that use a full spectrum of artificial intelligence techniques. The NCARAI has active research groups in Adaptive Systems, Intelligent Systems, Interactive Systems, and Perceptual Systems.

A building called Sustainability Base, at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., has an energy-efficient design that allows in sunlight. So for most of the year, the interior is illuminated by natural light. A building called Sustainability Base, at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., has an energy-efficient design that allows in sunlight. So for most of the year, the interior is illuminated by natural light. There's a building in Mountain View, Calif., where energy-saving technologies of the future are being tried on for size.

Google and NASA are betting that quantum forces are at work inside D-Wave's 512-bit chip. It's exactly the sort of futuristic thinking you'd expect from Google and NASA: Late last week, the organizations announced a partnership to build a Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at NASA's Ames Research Center. But questions surround the new type of computer at the lab's core. D-Wave systems, the company that makes the machine, says it is a quantum computer -- a machine that runs on the strange laws of quantum mechanics. But although the computer can solve a certain type of problem much faster than conventional computers, critics say that the company's claims are not supported by scientific evidence.

Some predict that technology will become more advanced than the human brain. Some predict that technology will become more advanced than the human brain. Ayesha and Parag Khanna are co-directors of the Hybrid Reality Institute. Ayesha is author of Straight Through Processing for Financial Services. Parag is senior research fellow at the New America Foundation and author of How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance.

The NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) is now using artificial intelligence to extend and improve its existing real-time quality control monitoring system. This system, called CORMS (Continuous Operational Real-time Monitoring System) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week ensuring the availability and accuracy of the real-time water levels, currents and meteorological data provided by CO-OPS for navigational safety. CO-OPS is part of the NOAA Ocean Service.

The Air Force wants smart software that can help analysts identify targets from a disparate patchwork of high and low resolution imagery data, a solicitation reveals. The hope is that the technology can be used by counterinsurgency teams to detect improvised explosive devices and ground threats. The Pentagon is specifically interested in "machine learning" technology -- artificial intelligence capabilities that allow computers to recognize complex patterns and make intelligent decisions with repeated use. Defense envisions that the systems will get smarter with time if taught how to model the way in which humans detect anomalous targets. "The activity detection system has an opportunity to learn from the detections provided by the users," the solicitation says.