At the same time, the security of computer systems, networks, and devices from cyberattacks by state and nonstate hackers, foreign and domestic, is also of increasing importance to the public and thus to the government, which now spends $10 billion on cybersecurity. Ensuring the integrity of social media from manipulation by hostile actors has also become a matter of national security. Tracking and anticipating movements of people, drugs, and extreme weather are more crucial than ever for public security.
In the face of these perils, three “post-digital” technologies are especially important: artificial intelligence, of course; quantum computing and communications; and networked satellite systems. Each is inherently dual-use, with great commercial value and potential to enhance national security.
AI is the most advanced in market penetration because it has been around the longest. Still, a 2022 Brookings report found that the government market for AI remains immature, but with rapid growth likely to come. Nearly all federal government expenditures on AI are for professional, technical, and scientific services, of which 87 percent of contract value is with DOD.
The AI industry serving the government – unlike established defense contractors that furnish large platforms and weapons — is highly fragmented, which means opportunity for startups and private sector innovators. Technology vendors come in all shapes and sizes, yet only 62 of them have more than one contract, while 245 have just one each.
Interest in and funding for networked space systems is of course mainly at NASA and DOD’s Space Force. That industry is made up of established systems integrators (for example: Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin) and private sector space system and services providers (for example: SpaceX).
