Welcome to the seventeenth bi-weekly Tech News Digest by the GISA Technology and Security Initiative. Our goal is to give you an easy-to-read overview of what has been happening in the world of technology and security. To do so we have chosen a few of the top news stories from the last two weeks and present you with a summary. If you are interested in learning more follow the links below. Several private fusion companies are moving from the small-scale lab to the larger electrical grid, with plans from General Fusion (Canada), Tokamak Energy (UK), Commonwealth Fusion Systems (USA), Helion Energy (USA), TAE Technologies (USA), and First Light Fusion (UK) all rapidly emerging with plans for their next-to-last prototypes of power stations.

Harvard University on Tuesday launched the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, a new University-wide initiative standing at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence, seeking fundamental principles that underlie both human and machine intelligence. The fruits of discoveries will flow in both directions, enhancing understanding of how humans think, perceive the world around them, make decisions, and learn, thereby advancing the rapidly evolving field of AI. The institute will be funded by a $500 million gift from Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, which was announced Tuesday by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The gift will support 10 new faculty appointments, significant new computing infrastructure, and resources to allow students to flow between labs in pursuit of ideas and knowledge. Chan and Zuckerberg have given generously to Harvard in the past, supporting students, faculty, and researchers in a range of areas, including around public service, literacy, and cures.

The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2021-2025) is prepared by the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, taking the opinions of other stakeholders in order to determine a roadmap for the studies carried out in the field of artificial intelligence ("AI") in Turkey. Within this scope, Circular numbered 2021/18 on the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy ("Circular") was published in the Official Gazette dated 20 August 2021 and numbered 31574, and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Document ("Strategy") on Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency's website on 24 August 2021. It has been decided to establish a "National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Steering Committee" ("Steering Committee") with the participation of the Head of the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Technology in order to develop policies at the national level, disseminate the use of artificial intelligence technologies and monitor the applications within this scope. The Steering Committee will convene at least once every three months and may form sub-committees, advisory and working groups when it deems necessary. The vision is determined as generating value on a global scale with an agile and sustainable AI ecosystem for Turkey.

Data science has made key contributions in the battle against COVID-19, from tracking cases and deaths to understanding how populations move during travel restrictions to vaccine design. The Harvard Data Science Initiative is working to support faculty members, students, and fellows in designing and applying the tools of statistics and computer science and creating a community to foster the flow of ideas. The year-old Harvard Data Science Review published a special issue online this summer dedicated to COVID-19 that will be updated with the latest findings, with a goal of fostering innovation and keeping the conversation going about how data science can help meet the COVID-19 challenge. The Gazette spoke with Francesca Dominici, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population and Data Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-director of the initiative, and Xiao-Li Meng, the review's editor in chief and the Whipple V.N. Jones Professor of Statistics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, about how data science can be used to meet today's challenges, and in turn, challenges facing the field. GAZETTE: How is data science important to our understanding of and response to COVID-19? DOMINICI: Data science is on the front page of The New York Times probably every single day.