[ExI] The top secret military research programs we don't get to hear about (was: working memory implant! wow!)

[BillK]

2011/6/22 John Grigg wrote:
> I often wonder to just what extent top secret military "skunkworks" type R &
> D programs are going on, with budgets in the hundreds of millions or even
> billions, that we are not privy to know about, but would be thrilled to know
> exist.  I have heard  that up to 40% of the U.S. military budget is swathed
> in secrecy, with many many billions going into research programs that border
> on science fiction.
>
> I suspect there are top secret AGI programs going on right now, with
> machines that far surpass what we learn about from the mass media.  I only
> wish anti-aging medicine would be a military priority, but at
> least regeneration biotech is now getting a lion's share of research
> dollars.  I bet the first true transhuman elites may be military special
> forces troops who have been enhanced cybernetically and biologically.
>
>

By definition, if it is a secret program, then we don't know about it.   :)

DARPA projects, like AI and regeneration medical research are not
'secret'. DARPA funds research projects all over the US. Reading their
project list is like reading SF.
<https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/DARPA>

40% 'secret' seems a bit high. 10% to 15% might be a reasonable
estimate, depending on what you include. (e.g. CIA projects).

Black military projects are projects with a more immediate military
objective than DARPA long-term research. I doubt if AGI is included
here as it is too long-term. They do have a secret space budget that
is about double the NASA budget, mostly surveillance satellites and a
secret space plane that has been seen in orbit.

Another large project is aiming at the total surveillance of everybody
in the world. Every communication to be monitored and analysed for
evidence of 'enemies of the state'.

Smaller projects like secret weapons, silent helicopters,
assassination squads, etc. are a relatively small part of the budget.


BillK