The Dark Side of DARPA | The Human Cost of Technological Supremacy

this episode of the wi files is brought to you by [Music] factor in the early days of the Space Race the Soviet Union racked up a lot of Firsts Sputnik the first satellite Leica the dog the first animal in space Yuri Gagarin the first man in space Valentina terova the first woman Zan 5 the first spacecraft to the Moon meanwhile America Space Program lagged plagued by setback after setback there were some successes but not enough to keep Pace with the Soviets America was still planning its first satellite while Sputnik circled the Earth then Sputnik to went up American citizens were terrified what if the Russians put weapons in space maybe they already have paranoia was starting to become Hysteria President Eisenhower was under pressure to act and to act fast the United States government knew what it had to do create an organization to develop the most technologically advanced military systems in the world and just 3 months after Sputnik 2 was launched the advanced research project agency or arpa was born later arpa became DARPA the d stands for defense because DARPA would be both a sword and a shield creating offensive weapons and defensive systems no project was too expensive and no program was too immoral darpa's secret research would cost many lives but sacrifices had to be made for the sake of security but after all these years it's time to ask who are they really [Music] protecting no no I didn't order any dumbbells no I didn't order a miniature squat cage yeah human just put it back on the truck I'm GL you here I need a favor it's an emergency of course it's an emergency that's the only reason you call no time for chitchat on your way home I need you to pick up Gertie's camel cream can't she make her own cream like from her milk not that kind of cream you idiot lotion you know a topical moisturizing ointment ah that kind of cream ah and make sure it's also analgesic analgesic what I say look I'd go get it myself but I got to get in a workout I'm buling up you know and all I had to eat today was a salad I found in the fridge that was my salad you know oh was that yours well it was all clumpy so I had to uh uh what do you call it uh give it a good churn you don't churn salad you churn milk you toss a salad I can't believe I got you to say it okay okay okay okay look if I'm going to pack on the muscle I need something more than a TOS salad well if you want delicious healthy meals why don't you just try Factor oh did you just TOS your way into today's spaner I sure did factor is a subscription meal service that delivers prepared meals to your door they're fresh never Frozen and ready to heat and eat in minutes each meal is made using only nutritious ingredients and every Factor meal is crafted by a Gourmet Chef and is dietitian approved they update their menu every week they've got 35 different meals with over 60 add-on options and factor is now owned by hellofresh so with a wider array of meal plans to choose from there's something for everyone they have plans that range from 4 to 18 meals a week and you can add or reduce as needed yeah but what if I'm trying to bulk up without getting too chunky in my uh dorsal fin area no problem has options like calorie smart keto Protein Plus and vegan vegetarian Yi head to factor 75. com or click the link below and use code the yfiles 50 to get 50% off your next Factor box and 20% off your next month of orders factor75. com for 50% off my first box then 20% off next month of orders that's right oh thank goodness no more R to salads please stop saying that okay okay just don't forget the cream okay Gertie's hump is all dried out and itchy and it's really hard for her to hold a hump scratcher with a camel toe okay okay if you promise to stop talking I'll bring home camel cream oh you know now that you mentioned camel milk you just gave me a great business idea I don't want to hear it you're right you're right we'll save that bit for the next spons great lucky then h here's the scene you're driving it's late and the road ahead is dark you make a turn and then another you finally realize you're lost If This Were the not too distant past you'd pull over and grab your Thomas guide yeah for you kids H that's a map and if you didn't have a map you try to find a gas station or 7-Eleven to ask for directions then your fate would be in the hands of the guy working the night shift who may or may not be a serial killer right but now all the answers are in your pocket you tell your phone the address and GPS guides the way some cars will even drive for you while you sit back relax and listen to your favorite podcast oh you know the wi files is also a podcast no plugs yet please we save those for the end sorry sorry I could sniff out a plug opportunity like a travel [Music] Pig the technology I described that got you to your destination ation it was created by DARPA all of it and there's a lot more of DARPA in your pocket than you think your cell phone uses microprocessors designed by DARPA they also created the batteries to power those microprocessors your phone uses Wireless technology made possible by DARPA the touchscreen and the microphone came from DARPA voice recognition and GPS come from DARPA and of course all this data transfer happens using the internet which was created by DARPA excuse me if I may H is this going to be a highly predictable and hack joke about how Al Gore said he created the internet I I yield the rest of my time thank you mhm yes DARPA created the internet well technically they were still arpa then remember the D was added in 1972 in the 1960s researchers were trying to figure out a way to ensure reliable Communications in case of a nuclear attack traditional phone lines and radio transmitters would be the first to go they came up with a radical idea packet switching not all of us speak nerd some of us went to our prom instead of staying home to write code on our Apple too well packet switching is not as complicated as it sounds here's how it works you want to send a message or file from New York to LA but what if half the country's lines are down so you break that message into small small chunks called packets and send each one independently over the network on the receiving end the message waits for all the packets to arrive and then reassembles them back into the original message or file each packet will independently try to find the most efficient route through the network at any given moment the internet still works this way most people didn't use the internet until the late 1990s or early 2000s some nerds like me were using our phones to dial bulletin board systems in the late 1970s and early 80s but this new network called arpanet was conceived in 1966 w w w w w w you were online all the way back then when you were like 12 or 13 years old yep I was even younger than that when I first got online and you're proud of this well yeah shouldn't I be you even know girls existed yes I knew they existed yeah now I see what girls didn't know you existed I was a late bloomer Bloomer Bloomer what' I say under ARA's guidance tcpip became the universal language for online computers they also developed the concept of email and invented domain names DARPA worked with UC Berkeley to create the BSD Unix operating system BSD Unix heavily influenced the operating system you're using right now no matter what OS it is it started with DARPA now these Technologies may seem modern but DARPA sent the first internet message in 1969 now this shouldn't be surprising DARPA technology is said to be about 20 years ahead of Civilian Tech like self-driving cars DARPA built one in 1984 DARPA had GPS in 1973 microprocessors motion sensors and wireless communication DARPA had these decades ago but eventually these Innovations became available to the rest of us darpa's technology has made our lives so much better it's easy to forget those Innovations weren't originally meant to improve lives they were meant to end them it's the middle of the night and you're lying prone on top of a Dusty building in some Far corner of the world you hug your 50 caliber Barrett sniper rifle it's pitch dark but your light Gathering High magnification scope gives you full visibility of the alley 1200 yd away a door opens it's your target right on schedule you hold your breath and put your finger on the trigger suddenly a van appears your target leaps in and speeds off years ago he'd escaped Mission failed not now you fire confident in darpa's latest Innovation a self-guided bullet with Optical sensors and realtime guidance it Maneuvers mid-flight locked onto its Target skilled snipers engage targets up to 1300 yards away or more the farthest confirmed kill 2.

2 Miles by Canadian special forces in 2017 impressive but darpa's Extreme accuracy task ordinance or exacto bullet hits targets 5 or six miles away maybe farther DARPA keeps the details a secret many DARPA projects seem like science fiction some like magic scepter lets you see through walls the jav project bends light making objects invisible darpa's engineering living materials program uses living fungus as a construction material structures will no longer be built they'll be grown instead of shipping finished materials we can ship precursors and rapidly grow them on site using local resources and since the materials will be alive they'll be able to respond to changes in their environment and heal themselves in response to damage DARPA likes fungus but it loves bugs project insect allies modifies flying insects to attack crops these insects resist disease and repair each other's injuries in the field then there's the hybrid insect microelectrical mechanical systems or high MMS this project along with project dragonfly creates miniature flying cyborgs beetles moths and dragonflies become undetectable spies with cybernetic implants and solar powered guidance systems they could be controlled remotely or operate autonomously using AI they've created remote controlled rats DARPA trains bees to find landmines they're developing clay Tronics programmable shape-shifting matter they're developing nuclear-powered spacecraft autonomous vehicles and weapons of all kinds darpa's technology is meant to keep people off the battlefield why risk a battalion of human soldiers when you can deploy a fleet of drones but sometimes you need boots on the ground and that means people with guns but DARPA has a better idea don't give a soldier a weapon turn them into one the human body is an amazing machine our muscular skeletal system allows us to do gymnastics lift heavy weights and walk long distances still our bodies have limitations DARPA is developing technology to overcome these limitations the goal is to increase strength endurance alertness and the overall health of soldiers darpa's Warrior web project is one of several exoskeleton programs in the works it's an Exo Suit lightweight and flexible similar to a scuba suit but this is a smart suit using machine learning and onboard sensors the suit knows when and where to firm up to augment muscles it performs its function then becomes flexible again DARPA has also developed hard exoskeletons just like you've seen in movies like aliens and Edge of Tomorrow these exoskeletons not only increase strength and endurance but they're modular they can be equipped with all kinds of weapons there's even a jetpack in development the Tallow suit turns a soldier into a real life iron man it's bulletproof and weaponized it increases strength speed and endurance it monitors the user's vital signs and has sensors that analyze the entire environment around them the Tactical augmented reality or t project is a headset that overlays information over your normal vision this gives soldiers real-time information like displaying Maps enemy locations and other vital data right in their line of sight project zman was inspired by geckos DARPA is creating a material that would let soldiers climb walls without ropes or ladders now everyone knows the Air Force gives a Pilots amphetamin they feel the need the Need for Speed the Need for Speed yep they literally take illegal narcotics to stay alert but the continuous assisted performance or cap program is focused on keeping soldiers awake alert and effective for up to 7 days straight without side effects darpa's brain Initiative Program connect soldiers brains to computers they can control drones and other systems with thought they can truly multitask where one part of the brain is operating a drone while the other part of the brain is analyzing the area looking for Targets in the early 2000s DARPA started exploring ways of giving humans superhuman abilities without equipment this is darpa's bio Revolution program they studied how animals attack defend themselves and regenerate from injuries DARPA felt that if they could find those answers these abilities could be transferred to humans they could give soldiers improved senses perfect eyesight and limb regeneration without external devices now to do that you'd have to alter human DNA so DARPA is exploring crisper Gene editing technology crisper can snip out unwanted jeans and insert new ones crisper could accelerate healing injuries that might have sidelined soldiers for weeks or months could heal in days crisper technology has already sparked a revolution in medicine with the potential to cure genetic disorders and even combat aging link below on how crisp and AI are about to end the whole world yeah that episode is scary but it's interesting and it's real now some of these projects have failed and some haven't and some are still in development I have no doubt that DARPA will turn soldiers into superhuman weapons eventually but they haven't yet so how do you put boots on the ground and keep humans off the battlefield darpa's answer Killer Robots [Music] DARPA started working on robotics in the 1960s its first project was shaky the first mobile robot to reason about its actions shaky wasn't Sleek or fast but it was a start ah you know I I feel like if you name your project shaky yeah you're kind of setting yourself up to fail well since then darpa's robotics has come a long way in the early 2000s DARPA launched the big dog program in partnership with Boston Dynamics these four-legged robots can carry heavy loads and navigate difficult terrain they can also be outfitted with weapons like sniper rifles or machine guns the LS3 can follow soldiers autonomously and carry up to 400 lb of gear and then there's the atlas robot and now we're getting serious Atlas was launched in 2013 and you've probably seen various versions of this robot over the years Atlas could run jump and navigate obstacle courses a couple of years ago Atlas used AI to teach itself how to walk and then run and then do gymnastics yeah you humans realize it's only a matter of time before these things take over and enslave you right uh some of us realize it investigative journalist Annie Jacobson has covered DARPA for years she says there's no doubt that the Pentagon is investing heavily in robotics darpa's plan through 2038 states without question that the Pentagon is moving towards robotic Warfare they want to have hunter killer drones that can swim crawl walk run drones that can fly 13,000 M an hour which is 22 times faster than a commercial jet to get to a Target really quickly ballistic missiles have limitations speeds over mach 20 require too much power and make the Rockets dangerously hot but thanks to DARPA that's no longer a problem missiles can now travel at Hypersonic Speed without overheating a Target 500 M away can be destroyed in 6 minutes weapons like these certainly keep humans off the battlefield but DARPA is going to take it one step further it's creating the technology to wage war without needing humans at all remember how DARPA is always about 20 years ahead of Civilian technology maybe more well as early as the 1960s DARPA started developing computers that can learn independently in the 1980s DARPA launched the Strategic Computing initiative or seci the goal of seci was to create military strategies by running simulations and learning from them you're describing war games what's it doing Le War Games was originally going to be a science fiction story about a dying scientist who's saved by a kid genius but then the writers met Peter Schwarz from the Stanford Research Institute or SRI SRI I know those guys you do SRI has been the Launchpad for many government programs I've talked about them a lot on this channel and they've long been connected to the CIA NSA and DARPA well Schwarz was fascinated by a new computer subculture called hackers he suggested that they make a movie about a kid hacking a military supercomputer oh yeah yeah yeah was it was called the uh the Big Mac no Whopper War operation plan response oh right I'd still rather have a big neck me too well the Whopper spends all its time thinking about World War I 24 hours a day 365 days a year it plays an endless series of War games using all available information on the state of the world at the very same time that this movie came out DARPA was working on its own military supercomputer here's how they described it the machine Invision by SC would run 10 billion instructions per second to see hear speak and think think like a human the degree of integration required would rival that achieved by the human brain the most complex instrument known to man if you haven't caught on by now we're talking about artificial intelligence today AI is everywhere and accessible to everyone and it feels like it came out of nowhere but it didn't it came out of DARPA as of today 70% of darpa's projects use or are focused on AI and machine learning darp started working on AI in the 1960s they built their first AI system a speech recognition computer in the 1970s in 1983 the Strategic Computing initiative project received billions for AI research then in the 1990s DARPA launched another supercomputing project it was and still is highly secret it's affecting you right now and once I tell you what it is you're not going to like it now it's time to get this video demonetized and censored yeah boy yeah if I'm not on a list by now I I'm about to be no they're watching you human yeah I I really don't want to talk about this honestly I'm about to put everything that I have at risk uh you're actually scaring me right now I'm scared too here we go [Music] [Music] welcome like the steam engine which sparked the industrial revolution of the late 1700s the internet is changing everything it touches and at The Cutting Edge of the revolution is Wall Street so we are now 6 and 3/4 points above fair value the early 1990s was the beginning of the tech boom internet startups were getting millions in Investments 22 Fus is look at 39 and about 35,000 if you want to buy 10 grand and they had access to vast resources and vast amounts of data personal data the intelligence Community wanted to gather this data to create a digital fingerprint of everyone using the internet if they could identify Bad actors criminals terrorists whatever they would compare that fingerprint against others they called this the birds of a feather approach if Joe's a bad guy and Bob's a bad guy and they both go to certain websites then other people visiting those same websites were potential bad guys so let's track them so surveillance yes of Americans yes legal no well officially illegal as of 2010 but the law was murky in the 1990s and for the intelligence Community murky means opportunity still the intelligence agencies didn't have the ability to manage all this data but they knew people were out there working on it and they were all looking for funding but if you're the NSA or CIA or DARPA you can't drop by an internet startup and ask them to build you an illegal digital surveillance program oh yeah it's kind of a bad look it is but it also gives away the game surveillance is only valuable if the target doesn't know they're being watched so this technology would need to be funded privately and quietly so in 1994 the highlands Forum was founded ever hear the highlands Forum you probably haven't and they like it that way the highlands Forum or Highlands group was formed as a think tank a bridge between technology companies and the Pentagon the highlands forum is an invitation only group of government officials academics and Executives from Tech and defense companies their discussions are private and off the Record operating under the chadam house rule meaning members can disclose information from the meetings as long as it doesn't harm anybody but they can never reveal who said it not ever although hardly anyone knows about the highlands Forum the group is highly influential on us defense policy especially regarding technology and they're a private Organization no auditing no oversight no Freedom of Information Act requirements they're a black box the perfect conduit for transactions you want to keep off the books so Tech is booming data is flowing and we've got our Think Tank to connect us with the people capturing the data now we need the money to fund them that same year the massive Digital Data Systems or mdds program was launched mdds would fund scientists researchers and companies who worked with big data sets the Highland Forum would help identify facilitate and coordinate these transactions to keep these transactions private and secret the mdds moved money through unclassified mainstream agencies like the National Science Foundation computer scientists were getting millions in Grants from the NSF totally normal they didn't know who was really behind the money and mdds was highly compartmentalized it had tons of projects and departments nobody knew what anyone else was doing or who was even in charge and this was by Design but the overall program was managed by the CIA NSA and DARPA so we've got black budget money flowing through the NSF and we've got our private organization the highlands forum looking for opportunities so the word goes out to researchers in Academia if you can handle big data we'll give you big money then a promising project emerged two Stanford Graduate students working on a search engine made a [Music] breakthrough in the early '90s searching the Internet Was difficult popular engines like altav Vista and lyos produced Hit or Miss results searching hiking gear would show Pages mentioning hiking or gear often irrelevant blog posts or articles users had to scroll through pages of useless results it took forever and I remember it well two Stamford students developed a system that changed everything their automated webcrawling system identified a web Page's context not just the text then Pages were ranked based on relev to specific queries Pages actually discussing hiking gear would rank higher for that query high traffic pages and pages with lots of incoming links ranked even higher these were signals to the algorithm that a page was a good match for that query using this search engine felt like magic usually the first or second result was exactly what you were looking for somehow it knew the system used an optimization technique called Association rule Ling or query flocks this assumes birds of a feather stick together meaning people searching specific keywords tended to click the same result query flocks worked with people too the search engine learned that people with similar online habits search for similar things if you searched hiking gear the system assumed you liked outdoor activities and were probably within a certain age group and the more you used the search engine the more it learned about you so your searches always gave you relevant results using information you willingly provided these students had developed a method to create your digital fingerprint [Music] jackpot the CIA NSA and DARPA learned about this project and through the National Science Foundation the mdds funded it if you haven't guessed by now those two students were Sergey Brin and Larry pagee and the search engine was Google you won't find mdds in Google's origin story but this is public unclassified information it's just hard to find in Brenan Page's famous 1998 research paper the anatomy of a large scale hypertextual web search engine they thank DARPA for their support you can see this for yourself it's on page 16 section 7 under acknowledgements now there's a lot more to this Rabbit Hole the connection between intell agencies and technology companies is so hang on hang on what pop quiz go ahead how do you make your living YouTube and who owns YouTube Google right bye-bye Channel now would be a good time you ask for patreon support I don't do plugs until the end of the episode make an exception we're in the deep water now he might be right truly and honestly I won't know until it's too late but telling you the story might have been a terrible mistake so yes please go to patreon. com theey files I don't know if we will but we might need your help anyway this video isn't about Google it's about DARPA specifically the Dark Side of DARPA and it's about to get a whole lot darker when John F Kennedy took office in 1961 America had allies everywhere Cuba Ethiopia Nicaragua La Vietnam Cambodia Iran Lebanon and many others but the Soviet Union was fueling insurrections against us-friendly governments Kennedy promised to stop the spread of Communism but the Soviets were pouring billions into military technology rocket and missile systems even space exploration JFK was committed to keeping Pace he wanted more resources in science and technology he modernized the military and double darpa's budget and the timing couldn't be better the global Cold War had evolved into Regional proxy wars with the Soviets a new type of warfare was being fought Guerilla Warfare old military strategies wouldn't work the situation in Vietnam was especially bad the Viet Kong were hidden under the thick jungle canopy you can't kill an enemy that you can't see Dara proposed a solution project agile it was pitched to Kennedy is both a scientific and Military Endeavor Kennedy signed off immediately the first phase was called operation Ranch Hand its purpose was to clear the jungle DARPA developed the rainbow herbicides named for their container colors to kill the foliage agent purple was first then green then pink DARPA was combining different herbicides defoliant and toxins looking for the perfect formula to destroy Viet Kon cover agent orange was the winner millions of gallons of Agent Orange was sprayed over miles of jungle every day leaves fell from trees almost immediately another application and the trees died next project agile targeted Farms Asian orange could destroy miles of crops in a day they asked South Vietnamese president DM if he knew which Farms were Viet Kong and which belonged to innocent civilians he said yes he knew and he didn't care if they weren't Traders yet they would be soon kill them all now the US didn't want to do this but it only had a few hundred military advisers in Vietnam at this time they didn't want to send more better to sacrifice North Vietnamese Farmers than US Marines so it was done guilty or innocent Friend or Foe if you were a North Vietnamese farmer you were targeted your crops were destroyed and your soil was poisoned replanting was impossible anent Orange's effects were instant and devastating and nobody knew it was only the beginning as the Vietnam War escalated so did the use of agent orange Under darpa's project agile project agile used other tactics DARPA contractors included social scientists and experts in human psychology propaganda spread through leaflets loudspeakers and media control subliminal technology kept people in heightened emotional states from minor discomfort to Absolute Terror subliminal Warfare mind control link Dan s psychological warfare teams targeted Villages turning neighbor against neighbor civilians were forced into strategic hamlets for their safety 4 million people were relocated against their will meanwhile soldiers complained of headaches nausea stinging eyes and rashes Agent Orange more than clear jungle and kill crops it tortured people for Life thousands exposed to agent orange developed cancer children were born with defects agan orangs caused reproductive problems like infertility and miscarriages heart disease and diabetes increased Asian orange was first used in 1962 in 1965 scientists discovered it contained dioxin a highly toxic compound that causes cancer and birth defects they kept using it in 1967 a study proved dioxin causes birth defects even at low concentrations they kept using it in 1969 a Department of Defense report acknowledged agent Orange's severe health risks they kept using it public outcry forced President Nixon to stop the use of Agent Orange in 1970 they kept using it they stopped spraying the following year 1971 [Music] now even in war There Are Rules PS must be treated humanely medical staff and facilities are off limits humanitarian Aid must be allowed breaking these rules is a war crime in 1907 the hay convention banned the use of poison in war the US signed the treaty agent orange was poison that's what herbicides are so was using agent orange a war crime no the United States said agent orange wasn't a poison it was an herbicide the treaty didn't specifically mention herbicides oh that's some loyal loophole in 1925 the Geneva protocol banned the use of chemical weapons the US signed this treaty but agent orange was a chemical of the 12 companies producing Asian orange the primary manufacturer was the dowo chemical company the word chemical isn't the company's name so is using agent orange a war crime nope the United States said agent orange wasn't a chemical it was an herbicide wa wa wait how is that even possible it's not in 1949 the Geneva conventions established that civilians and their property must not be intentionally targeted only combatants and Military targets were allowed the US signed this treaty but civilians and their Farms were intentionally targeted with agent orange so was using it a war crime no the United States said the intent was to disrupt the enemy's logistical support and visibility not cause direct harm to people in other words it was an accident so what about the destruction of plants and trees on civilian land those weren't military targets isn't this a war crime no the United States said it was a military necessity to defoliate the area in order to deny the enemy cover which makes trees any trees anywhere a military Target what about destroying civilian crops again the US only intended to destroy crops of the enemy not civilians it was unintentional so no war crime in 1977 the Geneva conventions were amended to specifically ban the use of herbicides and reinforce civilian protection the US signed this new treaty but still denied any liability for the damage caused by agent orange however in 1984 US veterans Su the chemical companies who settled for $180 million but the settlement was to support veterans not an admission of guilt in 2004 Jill Montgomery speaking for the Monsanto company one of the major suppliers of Agent Orange uh she set the record straight we're sympathetic with people who believe they've been injured and understand their concern to find the cause but reliable scientific evidence indicates that agent orange is not the cause of serious long-term health effects in 1991 finally the VA started providing benefits to vets exposed the agent orange but the US still denies liability my father-in-law served in Vietnam he was exposed to agent orange he's watching so I won't list his illnesses but he suffered almost all of them so in 1991 he applied for his benefits and I'll admit the government kept its word he did receive his benefits in 2021 it took years like so many vets when his country needed him he didn't hesitate but when he needed his country they said take a number get in line and hope you're still alive by the time we call your name do I sound angry that's because I [Music] am between 1955 and 1975 2. 7 million people were deployed to Vietnam 50 8,000 dead 300,000 wounded 3,000 missing or prisoners of War 1500 still missing that's tragic but it's much worse the VA estimates 300,000 to 400,000 veterans may have died from illnesses caused by the exposure to agent orange may have to this day to this day no single person Agency company or government has admitted any wrongdoing or assumed any life ability for the millions of lives destroyed by agent orange now Ordinary People Like Us have so many rules we have to follow don't speed check Grandma's shoes before she gets on a plane pay your taxes even though we're going to steal it and waste your money pick up a gun shoot at those people do what you're told if we break a law the government will take our money seize our property Force us into labor or lock us in a Cell it all depends on the crime so we follow the law but if you're a big chemical company or a government agency don't worry about the law you can get away with [Music] murder ah I needed a a minute the story of DARPA is hard to debunk and that's because most of it's true what we know about darpa's projects come from them their websites and official YouTube channel openly share information they have a podcast called voices of DARPA even the experts and covering DARPA Annie Jacobson and Sharon Weinberger get their information from the agency they're writing about when Jacobson gives a speech writes a book or appears in an interview about DARPA she's not sharing classified information she's not speculating she's reporting she never claims to know anything that we can't find out for ourselves but still most information is secret what we know about DARPA is what they want us to know there's no transparency none also DARPA is exempt from laws that other government agencies have to follow specifically about hiring practices managing personnel and managing budgets they can run the agency however they like DARPA is only 220 people that's it with a budget of almost $4 billion now that's a lot of freedom and power but it's much more than that DARPA is allowed to fund projects through what's called other transactions no Congressional approval needed no reporting required choose the projects you want to fund and fund them so who's choosing the projects Annie Jacobson gives us an unsettling answer the real problem is that the individuals who are responsible for deciding what weapon systems are being financed and created in these classified DARPA programs are the very CEOs of Defense contractors who stand to financially benefit from these [Music] contracts Annie Jacobson has said that DARPA is the agency driving the military industrial complex that agency is run by the companies that profit from the technology they create this is exactly what President Eisenhower said would happen if you make war profitable you'll always have War but to be fair darpa's Innovations have made our lives better not just because of cell phones and GPS darpa's achievements in Prosthetics have allowed paralyzed children to walk again they've created medical techniques to diagnose illnesses early they've bioengineered tissue and organs that can be used for transplants they've developed machines that can stabilize injured people in emergency situations Advanced Medical Imaging such as ultrasound MRI and brain Imaging all created by or alongside DARPA now does the good outweigh the bad do darpa's contributions offset the damage they've done I don't know that's not for me to judge but the story reminds me of the courtroom scene in A Few Good Men you can handle the truth right when the colonel says my existence while grotesque and incomprehensible to you saves lives you don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall you need me on that W right so is DARPA a necessary evil is evil even the right word I don't know when DARPA was formed in 1958 its mission was to make sure the United States was never again surprised by advance technology and for 66 years DARPA has succeeded in its Mission the US has never been surprised by technology except for the UFOs okay the US has never been surprised by another country's technology better I can't forget all the suffering that DARPA has caused but darpa's done so much good can I forgive I don't know I'm disgusted by some of darpa's actions by our government's corruption by the fact that because of DARPA bad people will get rich from war but if I'm being honest which I always am with you I have to acknowledge that as an American we need DARPA on that wall thank you so much for hanging out with me today my name is AJ that's cyle fish it's shaking sexy bacon this has been the wi files if you had fun or learned anything we had some fun today it wasn't all dark if you had a little fun or learned anything today do him a favor like subscribe comment share that stuff really helps the channel and I have a feeling that we are going to need it and like most topics we cover on the channel today's was recommended by you so if there's a story you'd like to see or learn more about go to the WiFi files.

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