edit: video isn't displaying, but its the first one listed in this query:
Some very interesting insight into and history of DARPA projects, as explained by Jacobson here, drawing from her book released around this time.
Some of the more colorful examples include
-neural implants in mice and moths that allowed the engineers to steer the animals.
-an array of microsensors placed around the major cities in Iraq (project titled Combat Zones That See), allowing for better knowledge of the battlefield.
-some research about oxytocin as a "morality molecule" that may yield insight into the nature of how with sympathize with information.
-the "Narrative Networks" project. From DARPA's site:
Narrative Networks (Archived)
Why do people accept and act on certain kinds of information while dismissing others? Why are some narrative themes successful at building support for terrorism? What role can narratives play in causing—and helping to treat—Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? These questions deal with the role narratives play in human psychology and sociology, and their answers have strategic implications for defense missions.
DARPA launched the Narrative Networks program to understand how narratives influence human cognition and behavior, and apply those findings in international security contexts. The program aims to address the factors that contribute to radicalization, violent social mobilization, insurgency, and terrorism among foreign populations, and to support conflict prevention and resolution, effective communication and innovative PTSD treatments.
Narratives may consolidate memory, shape emotions, cue heuristics and biases in judgment, and influence group distinctions. To determine their influence on cognitive functions requires a working theory of narratives, an understanding of what role they play in security contexts, and an examination of how to systematically analyze narratives and their psychological and neurobiological impact.
She also described the bureaucratic structure of DARPA being uncharacteristically horizontal for a defense research agency, explaining how there are a number of active projects at once, with project managers having almost total discretion of budgetary spending.
I suppose congress here determines the budget, but Jacobson made it seem like the pertinent congressional committees likely weren't fully clued into the full extent regarding the details of these projects, seeing as the documentation is simply too extensive.