IAO

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Information Awareness Office logo

The Information Awareness Office, or IAO, currently known as the IXO, or Information Exploitation Office, is a subsection of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that is responsible for bringing human data-mining projects such as Total Information Awareness (TIA) from concept to reality.

The office is headed by Dr. John Poindexter (director), and second-in-command is LtCol. James D. Bass.

(The IAO has changed its name to the IXO, but given that it still employs the same leadership, and in the interest of keeping up with the agency and its projects, it is addressed as the IAO in this article.)

1 Introduction
2 Programs
3 Knowledge Is Power
4 See also
5 External links
6 Relevant discussions

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Introduction

The IAO's physical location is classified. Given that it is part of DARPA, one could infer that it is located within a DARPA office somewhere in the continental United States.

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Programs

Most of the IAO's exploits are highly secretive, though some projects are brought into light due to partial declassification, project termination, and rarely, intelligence leaks. Some of the more interesting projects the IAO have created are outlined below.

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Bio-Surveillance

An early-warning system for biological agent detection, obviously to be used in the event of biological weapons release. Headed by Ted Senator.

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EARS (Effective, Affordable, Reusable Speech-to-Text)

The hardware interface for a highly advanced speech-to-text program designed to work alongside TIDES. Headed by Charles Wayne.

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EELD (Evidence Extraction and Link Discovery)

Complex data-mining program, no details available except that it is headed by Ted Senator. Presumably the tool utilized to sort through Genisys.

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Genisys

Ultra-large database program designed to populate information contained in all existing databases on a global scale. Led by Doug Dyer.

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Genoa

Dr. Poindexter's brainchild for at least ten years, Genoa is a form of software logic designed to analyze a complete history and profile of an object, such as a person, group, or vehicle, and then determine the object's next action. Originally intended for use by the intelligence community, but is being expanded under Genoa II.

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Genoa II

The next level of Genoa, Genoa II is designed to work the same way as its predecessor, but DARPA-contextual discussion of the program seems to indicate it will also be utilized for law enforcement and at other strategic levels. This is a joint project between Dr. Poindexter and Tom Armour.

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HumanID (Human Identification at a Distance)

Use of biometric technology to identify and/or track individuals from a distance with automated surveillance systems. Headed by Jonathon Phillips.

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TIDES (Translingual Information Detection, Extraction and Summarization)

The software component to the EARS program. Envisioned to translate all known human languages in text-to-speech format. Also led by Charles Wayne.

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WAE (War Gaming the Asymmetric Environment)

This program combines the above tools to create a detailed model for any specified situation. The model will graphically display all pertinent information gleaned from its massive database and list all possible outcomes of the situation. Directed by Larry Willis.

The above nine programs and are only the tip of the iceberg in the IAO's vision to literally know anything about anyone, anywhere in the world.

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Knowledge Is Power

The IAO's programs, while highly technical and somewhat frightening in complexity, are not exactly surprising given the nature of the office itself. As criminals and terrorists find new and innovative ways to utilize and exploit technology for illegal purposes, it is only natural for the powers-that-be to find effective counters against any and every known method of crime.

However, what is slightly strange is the way in which the IAO originally represented itself, as can be seen from their old logo which titles this tinWiki.

The most striking feature is the pyramid topped with the all-seeing-eye. This is the same symbol on American paper money, and is Masonic in nature. We can see that the eye is represented to be looking at most of the world; this makes an economic statement, and gives the impression that "The United States is watching".

DARPA is of course mentioned, as the IAO is compartmentalized under the agency. And last is the latin term "Scientia est Potentia", or "Knowledge is Power".

The symbolism in this logo apparently generated a substantial amount of negative public feedback about the IAO, which was surprising when one considers its low profile, and in 2002 the logo was replaced with the traditional DARPA banner. An IAO satellite office in the Pentagon was also closed at this time.

As a interesting sidenote, it is fitting that this symbol is also the logo for the Deconstructing Disinformation & Deflection section at the ATS forums.

Nontheless, today the IAO continues in its quest for data hoarding. Even the minute information about the office itself and the work that goes on within easily confirms that, even sans Masonic symbolism, the agency values the amassing and modelling of knowledge above all else.

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