NASA Langley Research Center employees are looking to utilize virtual reality systems for mission research to educational outreach purposes and other potential applications.

The space agency said Wednesday virtual reality technologies such as the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR can replicate a real or imagined environment and simulate a user’s physical presence and environment for interaction.

“One of our goals with the work that we’re doing here is we want to be able to have two engineers, no matter where they are we want them to be able to look at the same virtual scene and communicate with each other and to interact with that scene,” said Josh Kinne, deputy project manager at Langley’s flight projects directorate.

Kinne added that NASA currently works to develop software usage in preparation for virtual reality tools as more options become available in the marketplace.

Dan Cherry, head of NASA Langley’s collaboration and talent development branch, said virtual reality also has potential applications in an interactive classroom session via the space agency’s digital learning network.

The White House’s National Science and Technology Council has released a report on current and potential applications of artificial intelligence as well as public policy issues related to AI.

NSTC said in the report published Wednesday that investments by both public and private sectors in AI-related research and development programs have begun to benefit the public in the areas of healthcare, economy, transportation, criminal justice and the environment.

The document also tackles regulatory challenges associated with AI-based unmanned aircraft and self-driving cars and the U.S. Transportation Department’s efforts to collaborate with industry and civil society to develop new regulations that seek to ensure safe operation of AI-equipped drones and automated vehicles.

NSTC also cites policy questions about the application of AI in international relations and security, such as its role in weapon systems as well as offensive and defensive cybersecurity measures.

The report also recommends that AI practitioners and students should undergo ethical training and use technical tools in an effort to ensure fairness and address safety concerns linked to AI adoption.

Other topics cited by NSTC include the strategic plan for federally funded R&D work on AI, integration of AI education with federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education initiatives, automation of tasks and other economic impacts of AI as well as the U.S. government’s role in the development of public policy tools and agenda for public debate.

Facebook‘s information security organization looks for a counterterrorism research analyst to work with the company’s team in Washington.

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook said the selected candidate will help identify tools, tactics and infrastructure that terrorist actors use as they affect the social network’s systems in efforts to mitigate threats.

The analyst will also support cross-functional and cross-industry initiatives to characterize terrorists and militant groups as well as their online activities.

The candidate will gauge the credibility, value, significance, and relevance of information; create concepts of operations for  information processing and analytical initiatives to support investigators; and provide “proactive” insight through technology and data analysis.

Facebook said it will consider applicants who have experience in research and analytics, background in counterterrorism or counterintelligence and interest in technology.

The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command has developed and adopted a new process designed to expedite the acquisition and deployment of cyber capabilities in response to emergency requirements of the service branch’s cyber forces.

The cyber advisory team at MCSC collaborated with Andrew Dwyer, CAT liaison officer to the Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, and the military branch’s program manager for information systems and infrastructure to develop the acquisition process for cyber platforms, USMC said Wednesday.

The cyber platform acquired through the new acquisition process leverages commercial-off-the-shelf software and hardware equipment and works to help the military branch’s cyber protection teams perform on-site cyber operations and remote network monitoring functions.

“Our relationship with MARFORCYBER enables us to identify cyber requirements early and expedite the acquisition process,” Dwyer said.

The command’s CAT, formerly known as the cyber acquisition team, provides coordination and mentoring support to the commander on matters related to information technology, cyber and Marine Corps Enterprise Network operations.

David Bray, chief information officer at the Federal Communications Commission, has said he believes that government CIOs should help their agencies’ C-level executives to understand how technology can support organizational missions, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

Jason Miller writes Bray worked to help the commission rethink of how it does business through projects such as data center migration to a public cloud infrastructure.

He told Federal News Radio that FCC spends nearly 50 percent of the agency’s annual IT budget to operate and maintain legacy systems compared with 85 percent spent on systems O&M two years ago.

“This gave us enough fuel to modernize the remaining systems at the commercial provider to move commercial cloud platforms,” he added, according to the report.

Bray said he also believes that agencies should engage industry and the public to transform the way government services are delivered.