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US Department of Defense commits $2B to training AI to have “common sense”
While artificial intelligence is being painted by companies and government as the catch-all answer to many of today’s inefficiencies and problems, it currently has one glaring shortcoming: It can’t answer common sense questions.
In an effort to address this current shortcoming of AI, The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is committing $2 billion dollars over the next five years to its Machine Common Sense (MCS) Program. The program aims to enable computers to communicate naturally, behave reasonably in new situations, and learn from new experiences.
Thanks in part to Iron Man (and Elon Musk) fame, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, aka “DARPA”, an agency within the DoD, may be one of the few alphabet soup government agencies with a future-tech-savvy reputation. That reputation is well deserved, too, if history has anything to say about it. As the agency that gave us the Internet through an extension of a defense communication project, just having a discussion online about DARPA itself is testament to the tech potential it represents. The challenge of creating true, thinking computers is perfectly aligned with what DARPA has done well with overall.
As the advancement of computer technology increases at a near exponential rate, so too has the potential relationship between them and humans. However, the possibility of a troubling disconnect is also a growing reality. In other words, humans and computers currently operate very differently from one another, and that could spell bad things for the weaker logician of the two. Yeah, that means us.
Elon Musk has famously harped about this predicted disconnect on numerous occasions, and one of the companies he’s invested in, Neuralink, is working on preemptive solutions for its coming problems. While Neuralink generally aims to help human brains work more like computers, DARPA is taking the approach of having computers work more like humans.
The term “common sense” can often be tossed around in conversations to imply a variety of shared knowledge bases, but as a federal government agency, DARPA has its own specific definition for this context: “The basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge things that are shared by nearly all people and can be reasonably expected of nearly all people without need for debate.” By mimicking the cognitive processes we go through when we are young, the agency hopes computers will develop the “fundamental building blocks of intelligence and common sense” just like a human.
With advanced neural networks making amazing (and humorous) headlines regularly, what would a “common sense” machine bring to the table in terms of advancement? One primary answer is the requirement for less initial information. To quote Dr. Brian Pierce, director of DARPA’s Innovation Office, at a recent summit, “We’d like to get away from having an enormous amount of data to train neural networks.” If a machine could use its environment to deduct answers when compared to its existing knowledge base, as humans do, it wouldn’t need to be taught to interpret data solely based on an enormous amount of data previously provided. Essentially, it could think for itself using common sense.
DARPA has now completed a “Proposers Day” wherein potential contractors were presented with the agency’s specifics for its MCS program. The next step is a “Broad Agency Announcement”, i.e., a formal invitation for proposals to work on the project with the hope of obtaining a federal contract to fulfill its aim.
If the contract winner is successful, will common sense lead to computer behavior we’d welcome rather than fear? Hopefully that will be figured out sooner rather than later.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces major update with texting and driving on FSD
“Depending on context of surrounding traffic, yes,” Musk said in regards to FSD v14.2.1 allowing texting and driving.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced a major update with texting and driving capabilities on Full Self-Driving v14.2.1, the company’s latest version of the FSD suite.
Tesla Full Self-Driving, even in its most mature and capable versions, is still a Level 2 autonomous driving suite, meaning it requires attention from the vehicle operator.
You cannot sleep, and you should not take attention away from driving; ultimately, you are still solely responsible for what happens with the car.
The vehicles utilize a cabin-facing camera to enable attention monitoring, and if you take your eyes off the road for too long, you will be admonished and advised to pay attention. After five strikes, FSD and Autopilot will be disabled.
However, Musk announced at the Annual Shareholder Meeting in early November that the company would look at the statistics, but it aimed to allow people to text and drive “within the next month or two.”
He said:
“I am confident that, within the next month or two, we’re gonna look at the safety statistics, but we will allow you to text and drive.”
“I am confident that, within the next month or two, we’re gonna look at the safety statistics, but we will allow you to text and drive.”
Does anyone think v14.3 will enable this? pic.twitter.com/N2yn0SK70M
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 23, 2025
Today, Musk confirmed that the current version of Full Self-Driving, which is FSD v14.2.1, does allow for texting and driving “depending on context of surrounding traffic.”
Depending on context of surrounding traffic, yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 4, 2025
There are some legitimate questions with this capability, especially as laws in all 50 U.S. states specifically prohibit texting and driving. It will be interesting to see the legality of it, because if a police officer sees you texting, they won’t know that you’re on Full Self-Driving, and you’ll likely be pulled over.
Some states prohibit drivers from even holding a phone when the car is in motion.
It is certainly a move toward unsupervised Full Self-Driving operation, but it is worth noting that Musk’s words state it will only allow the vehicle operator to do it depending on the context of surrounding traffic.
He did not outline any specific conditions that FSD would allow a driver to text and drive.
News
Tesla Semi just got a huge vote of confidence from 300-truck fleet
The confidential meeting marks a major step for the mid-sized carrier in evaluating the electric truck for its regional routes.
The Tesla Semi is moving closer to broader fleet adoption, with Keller Logistics Group wrapping up a key pre-production planning session with the electric vehicle maker’s team this week.
The confidential meeting marks a major step for the mid-sized carrier in evaluating the electric truck for its regional routes.
Keller’s pre-production Tesla Semi sessions
Keller Logistics Group, a family-owned carrier with over 300 tractors and 1,000 trailers operating in the Midwest and Southeast, completed the session to assess the Tesla Semi’s fit for its operations. The company’s routes typically span 500-600 miles per day, positioning it as an ideal tester for the Semi’s day cab configuration in standard logistics scenarios.
Details remain under mutual NDA, but the meeting reportedly focused on matching the truck to yard, shuttle and regional applications while scrutinizing economics like infrastructure, maintenance and incentives.
What Keller’s executives are saying
CEO Bryan Keller described the approach as methodical. “For us, staying ahead isn’t a headline, it’s a habit. From electrification and yard automation to digital visibility and warehouse technology, our teams are continually pressure-testing what’s next. The Tesla Semi discussion is one more way we evaluate new tools against our standards for safety, uptime, and customer ROI. We don’t chase trends, we pressure-test what works,” Keller said.
Benjamin Pierce, Chief Strategy Officer, echoed these sentiments. “Electrification and next-generation powertrains are part of a much broader transformation. Whether it’s proprietary yard systems like YardLink™, solar and renewable logistics solutions, or real-time vehicle intelligence, Keller’s approach stays the same, test it, prove it, and deploy it only when it strengthens service and total cost for our customers,” Pierce said.
News
Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Tesla appears to be doubling down on its European Full Self-Driving (Supervised) push, with the company extending its demo ride-along program by three months until the end of March 2026. The update seems to have been implemented due to overwhelming demand.
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Extended FSD demonstrations
Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager Ivan Komušanac shared on LinkedIn that the company is offering ride-along experiences in Germany, France and Italy while working toward FSD (Supervised) approval in Europe.
He noted that this provides a great feedback opportunity from the general public, encouraging participants to record and share their experiences. For those unable to book in December, Komušanac teased more slots as “Christmas presents.”
Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt highlighted the extension on X, stating that dates now run from December 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, in multiple cities including Stuttgart-Weinstadt, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf in Germany. This suggests that the FSD ride-along program in Europe has officially been extended until the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Building momentum for European approval
Replies to Merritt’s posts buzzed with excitement, with users like @AuzyMale noting that Cologne and Düsseldorf are already fully booked. This sentiment was echoed by numerous other Tesla enthusiasts on social media. Calls for the program’s expansion to other European territories have also started gaining steam, with some X users suggesting Switzerland and Finland as the next locations for FSD ride-alongs.
Ultimately, the Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager’s post aligns with the company’s broader FSD efforts in Europe. As per recent reports, Tesla recently demonstrated FSD’s capabilities for Rome officials. Reporters from media outlets in France and Germany have also published positive reviews of FSD’s capabilities on real-world roads.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces major update with texting and driving on FSD
Tesla Semi just got a huge vote of confidence from 300-truck fleet
