Understanding, Assessing, and Mitigating Safety Risks in Artificial Intelligence Systems

Prepared for: Naval Air Warfare Development Center (NAVAIR)Traditional software safety techniques rely on validating software against a deductively defined specification of how the software should behave in particular situations. In the case of AI systems, specifications are often implicit or inductively defined. Data-driven methods are subject to sampling error since practical datasets cannot provide exhaustive coverage of all possible events in a real physical environment. Traditional software verification and validation approaches may not apply directly to these novel systems, complicating the operation of systems safety analysis (such as implemented in MIL-STD 882). However, AI offers advanced capabilities, and it is desirable to ensure the safety of systems that rely on these capabilities. When AI tech is deployed in a weapon system, robot, or planning system, unwanted events are possible. Several techniques can support the evaluation process for understanding the nature and likelihood of unwanted events in AI systems and making risk decisions on naval employment. This research considers the state of the art, evaluating which ones are most likely to be employable, usable, and correct. Techniques include software analysis, simulation environments, and mathematical determinations.Naval Air Warfare Development CenterNaval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimite

A Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Study of Chondritic Diamond and Silicon Carbide

A suite of identically prepared, acid-resistant residues from the three chondrite classes have been analysed for carbon and nitrogen by stepped combustion. Diamond and silicon carbide were found to be ubiquitous components of the residues along with some other minor carbonaceous phases. The diamond and silicon carbide were associated with isotope anomalies suggesting that they are presolar circumstellar condensates. The diamond nitrogen content ranges from 2000 to 13000 ppm, and the δ13C from -32 to -38‰. These two variables are systematically related to petrologic type, with the high petrologic types containing diamond with a heavier carbon isotopic composition and lower nitrogen content. However, the δ15N, at -351±8‰, was found to be indistinguishable between meteorite samples, suggesting that the variation in nitrogen content cannot be explained by metamorphic degassing of the diamond. A more likely explanation is that the more nitrogen rich crystals are more prone to metamorphic destruction that the nitrogen poor grains, perhaps implying that the grains are a mixture of nitrogen rich and nitrogen poor grains that may originate in different sources. Silicon carbide was found to have a similar 12C/13C ratio in all the meteorites in which its abundance was >10ppm of the whole rock, with 12C/13C =36.6±0.5; this is interpreted as evidence that a similar mixture of grains were incorporated into each parent body. SiC poor, higher petrologic type meteorites have lower δ13C values. The combustion dynamics of the grains differ from meteorite to meteorite, suggesting that processing since accretion has caused the SiC grains of separate meteorite classes to have different characteristics. The enstatite chondrite Abee (EH4) appears to be free of carbonaceous phases containing isotopic anomalies but contains isotopically “normal” diamond and silicon carbide. Diamond and sihcon carbide may have been stable condensates in some regions of the early solar nebula. Overall the isotope data suggest that presolar grains, from a mixture of sources, were well mixed in the meteorite parent body region of the early solar nebula before accretion. Subsequent metamorphism has however caused the grains isolated from different meteorite classes to be distinguishable

The Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Using Multimodal Ground-based Observatories

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1990 phase 1 projects

The research objectives of the 280 projects placed under contract in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 1990 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 program are described. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses in response to NASA's 1990 SBIR Phase 1 Program Solicitation. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 280, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. The document also includes Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference in the 1990 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA field center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number

Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography, supplement 120

This bibliography contains abstracts for 297 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1980

Program and Proceedings: The Nebraska Academy of Sciences 1880-2023. 142th Anniversary Year. One Hundred-Thirty-Third Annual Meeting April 21, 2023. Hybrid Meeting: Nebraska Wesleyan University & Online, Lincoln, Nebraska

AERONAUTICS & SPACE SCIENCE Chairperson(s): Dr. Scott Tarry & Michaela Lucas HUMANS PAST AND PRESENT Chairperson(s): Phil R. Geib & Allegra Ward APPLIED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY SECTION Chairperson(s): Mary Ettel BIOLOGY Chairpersons: Lauren Gillespie, Steve Heinisch, and Paul Davis BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES Chairperson(s): Annemarie Shibata, Kimberly Carlson, Joseph Dolence, Alexis Hobbs, James Fletcher, Paul Denton CHEM Section Chairperson(s): Nathanael Fackler EARTH SCIENCES Chairpersons: Irina Filina, Jon Schueth, Ross Dixon, Michael Leite ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Chairperson: Mark Hammer PHYSICS Chairperson(s): Dr. Adam Davis SCIENCE EDUCATION Chairperson: Christine Gustafson 2023 Maiben Lecturer: Jason Bartz 2023 FRIEND OF SCIENCE AWARD TO: Ray Ward and Jim Lewi