Biometric technologies use unique biological or behavioral attributes—such as DNA, fingerprints, cardiac signatures, voice or gait patterns, and facial or ocular measurements—to authenticate an individual’s identity. Although biometric technologies have been in use for decades, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data analytics have expanded their application. As these technologies continue to mature and proliferate, largely driven by advances in the commercial sector, they will likely hold growing implications for congressional oversight, civil liberties, U.

For most of the history of industrial robotics, the machine and the task were synonymous. A welding robot welded. A pick-and-place robot picked and placed. The intelligence was in the fixture, the jig, the controlled environment — not in the robot. General purpose robotics represents the dismantling of that assumption, and the pace of that dismantling has accelerated sharply. The GAO’s 2026 horizon report frames the shift with the right analogy: robotics is following the trajectory of computers, from single-function devices to general platforms.