Subrata Ghoshroy, Research Affiliate
Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: No pre-requisites, only an interest in defense policy
After the end of World War II, the U.S. embarked upon a policy to spend large sums of money for defense and created a "black budget" for nuclear weapons. The rationale was two-fold. One was to fight the growing threat of communism and the other was to spur the post-war economy. A big part of the defense budget was for R&D to develop science and technology for weapons, in order to have a technology edge over the USSR. The dual Cold War rationale - prosperity at home and fighting wars abroad - to contain "communist aggression" continues 25 years after the collapse of the USSR. Today, the U.S. military spends about $600 billion including between $70 billion and $80 billion for R&D. 1 trillion-dollar will be spent on nuclear weapons over the next 30 years, shortchanging the research on climate change, e.g. From the early days of the second world war, academics participated in the Manhattan project to develop the atomic bomb, the radar, missile guidance systems, etc. Today's subjects are artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and cyber defense, for example. The Pentagon also funds research in social sciences like political science, anthropology and psychology. Eisenhower's warning of the danger of a "military-industrial complex" (MIC) has come true.
There will be four sessions as follows:
Sponsor(s): Science, Technology, and Society
Contact: Subrata Ghoshroy, E51-296, 617 253-3846, GHOSHROY@MIT.EDU
| Jan/11 | Wed | 04:00PM-05:30PM | 4-163, CANCELLED DUE TO MEDICAL EMERGENCY. |
| Jan/18 | Wed | 04:00PM-05:30PM | 4-163, CANCELLED DUE TO MEDICAL EMERGENCY. |
| Jan/25 | Wed | 04:00PM-05:30PM | 4-163, CANCELLED DUE TO CONTINUED MEDICAL ISSUE |
| Feb/01 | Wed | 04:00PM-05:30PM | 4-163, CANCELLED DUE TO CONTINUED MEDICAL ISSUE. |
Our apologies for having to cancel this activity entirely, due to a prolonged medical issue. We were hoping to have the last day of the original session run as a condensed version, but unfortunately this is not possible.
Subrata Ghoshroy - Research Affiliate