DefSec IH and Technology Transfer Center ASCR organized a workshop titled “Quantum technologies and their use for the armed forces”

8.11.2019, Národní 3, Prague 1, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

On Friday, November 8th, 2019, Defense and Security Innovation Hub z.ú. and the Technology Transfer Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic organized the second event in a series of workshops focused on innovation and modern technologies titled “Quantum technologies and their use for the armed forces”. The workshop was held in cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and offered a panel discussion of three speakers: prof. Igor Jex from the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague, prof. Miloslav Dušek from the Department of Optics at Palacký University in Olomouc and prof. Josef Lazar from the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the ASCR.

The event was conceived primarily as an introduction of the topic of quantum technologies to the professional public and other interested parties. The topic of applied use of quantum technologies has a comprehensive scientific background and panelists presented its specific components from the perspective of their personal expertise. Prof. Jex introduced an introduction to quaternary computing and its possible practical applications. Prof. Lazar spoke about quantum metrology and the technical aspects of quantum technology. In the last contribution, prof. Dušek discussed the topic of quantum cryptography and its applications in security and the armed forces.

The whole discussion was accompanied by questions from the audience regarding individual fields and applications of quantum technologies. In response to the question whether quantum computing technology will replace standard computers in the near future, prof. Dušek said: “Quantum computers are unlikely to completely replace regular computers. They will be used mainly for specialized tasks which they are to solve more effectively. Hybrid systems are likely to emerge.”

The event was attended by the audience on site and remotely via teleconference. DefSef IH President Kristina Soukupova concluded: “I am very pleased that DefSec has had the opportunity to introduce the public to such a complex and extensive topic as quantum technology, opening up a debate on its applications to the military and society. It is an area with great potential not only for security and therefore we are going to follow up on this topic in the near future and further develop the interdisciplinary discussion.”

Another in a series of innovation workshops organized by Defense and Security Innovation Hub z.ú. under the title “Blockchain Technology and its Military Use” will be held again in cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in early 2020. The topic will serve as the introduction of another field of modern technology and a continuation of discussion on innovative and progressive technologies and their applications for society and the military.

For further information, please contact the Defense and Security Innovation Hub z.ú. at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit the official website at http://dsih.org.

  


DefSec IH organised a workshop titled “Artificial Intelligence in Military IoT Applications”

11.10.2019, Národní 3, Prague 1, Czech Academy of Sciences

On Friday 11th October 2019, Defense and Security Innovation Hub z.u. organised the first event in a series of workshops aimed at innovation and modern technologies titled Artificial Intelligence in Military IoT Applications. The workshop took place in cooperation with the Czech Academy of Sciences and offered a panel discussion with 3 speakers: Jan Flusser from the Institute of Information Theory and Automation (UTIA), Alžběta Krausová from the Institute of State and Law (ISL) and Miroslav Bureš from the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU).

The event was attended by a sizeable audience both locally and distantly over the internet. The discussed topics encompassed the applications of AI in various areas such as smart cities and collection and usage of civic data, effectivity and security of data collection with special emphasis on legal implications of data collection and processing, military topics and IoT (internet of things) applications as well as security and verification of data transmission.

In response to the topic of AI replacing human decision-making, Mgr. Alžběta Krausová stated “There is this European trend […] to keep the human in the loop. Because imagine what would happen if we take the person out of the loop and we say [that] ‘expert systems are the best, let’s just rely completely on them,’ so then what happens; nobody really feels responsible, things will happen automatically […] it will become dehumanised and we cannot imagine what the social consequences of such action would be, how it would psychologically impact those people.”

The event has been met with good reception by the audience as well as the panelists. “Overall, the event pleasantly surprised me [...] I left with a good feeling of a fruitful discussion and meeting with interesting people outside my field, which I probably would never have met otherwise.” said prof. Jan Flusser in a follow-up email.

The next in the series of innovation workshops organised by Defense and Security Innovation Hub z.u. titled Quantum Technologies and their Use for the Armed Forces will be held at the Czech Academy of Sciences on 8th November 2019. The topic will serve to continue the discussion of innovation and progressive technologies in the military sector as well as as outside of it.

For further information please reach out to Defense and Security Innovation Hub z.u. representatives an This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit the official website at http://dsih.org. 


Workshop titled ‘Hybrid threats: Call for Cross-Sector Collaboration’ 

The workshop took place March 26, in Dum Armady Praha.

This workshop was the first of many, which aim at exactly that – to provide a platform for the brightest minds to discuss the needs and capabilities of each other with the aim to create innovative solutions fit for the 21st century environment; fit to detect and counter hybrid threats. In order to start the discussion, we asked our presenters to avoid lengthy academic discourse and to dive straight into the problem. We asked them to answer the following questions: What is a hybrid threat to you and your organization, how are you dealing with it and where do you see room for collaboration with academia and industry? 

 

About the workshop elsewhere:

http://orptt.cvut.cz/cs/cesky-workshop-hybridni-hrozby-a-jak-se-s-nimi-vyrovnat-vyzva-k-mezisektorove-spolupraci/

http://www.mocr.army.cz/informacni-servis/zpravodajstvi/jak-se-vyrovnat-s-hybridnimi-hrozbami--radili-se-odbornici-z-ministerstva-ci-cvut-142273/

http://roucekpartners.cz/conference/hybridni-hrozby-a-jak-se-s-nimi-vyrovnat/