The robots are coming for your jobs, too. China's state news agency has debuted a virtual anchor designed to be able to deliver the news 24 hours a day. Xinhua unveiled its "artificial intelligence news anchor" this week at an internet conference in the eastern city of Wuzhen. "Hello, you are watching English news program. I am AI news anchor in Beijing," the computer-generated host announced in a robotic voice at that start of its English-language broadcast.

China's state news agency Xinhua this week introduced the newest members of its newsroom: AI anchors who will report "tirelessly" all day every day, from anywhere in the country. Chinese viewers were greeted with a digital version of a regular Xinhua news anchor named Qiu Hao. The anchor, wearing a red tie and pin-striped suit, nods his head in emphasis, blinking and raising his eyebrows slightly. "Not only can I accompany you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I can be endlessly copied and present at different scenes to bring you the news," he says.

China believes the children are the future -- of its autonomous weapons program. According to a story published Thursday in the South China Morning Post, the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), which operates under the supervision of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, just selected 31 students under the age of 18 for a special four-year program. Its goal: to develop intelligent weapons systems -- weapons that can decide for themselves when to take a human life. More than 5,000 students reportedly applied to take part in the program, and one BIT professor involved in the screening process explained to the SCMP exactly what the school saw in the 31 students -- 27 boys and four girls -- who made the final cut. "These kids are all exceptionally bright, but being bright is not enough," said the man, who asked to remain anonymous.

The Japanese government has decided to ban flying drones near venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games during the events, a government source said Friday. As part of efforts to counter possible terrorist attacks, the government aims to pass legislation that will allow police to collect and destroy drones if they are flown near designated zones without permission, the source said. The government will also consider whether the envisioned law should include U.S. military bases and Self-Defense Forces facilities as restricted areas, the source said, adding that the regulation will also cover venues of the Rugby World Cup 2019 during the event. It plans to submit a bill for relevant laws to the ordinary Diet session to be convened early next year. Japan already prohibits drone flights above such key facilities as the Prime Minister's Office and the Imperial Palace, but many sports venues are not covered.

China's state-owned Xinhua News Agency introduced so-called "composite anchors" on Wednesday, combining the images and voices of human anchors with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The new AI anchors, launched by Xinhua and Beijing-based search engine operator Sogou during the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, can deliver the news with "the same effect" as human anchors because the machine learning programme is able to synthesise realistic-looking speech, lip movements and facial expressions, according to a Xinhua news report on Wednesday. "AI anchors have officially become members of the Xinhua News Agency reporting team. They will work with other anchors to bring you authoritative, timely and accurate news information in both Chinese and English," Xinhua said. The AI anchors are now available throughout Xinhua's internet and mobile platforms such as its official Chinese and English apps, WeChat public account, and online TV webpage.

Big data, personalized medicine, artificial intelligence. String these three buzzphrases together, and what do you have? A system that may revolutionize the future of healthcare, by bringing sophisticated health data directly to patients for them to ponder, digest, and act upon--and potentially stop diseases in their tracks. At Singularity University's Exponential Medicine conference in San Diego this week, Dr. Ran Balicer, director of the Clalit Research Institute in Israel, painted a futuristic picture of how big data can merge with personalized healthcare into an app-based system in which the patient is in control. Picture this: instead of going to a physician with your ailments, your doctor calls you with some bad news: "Within six hours, you're going to have a heart attack. So why don't you come into the clinic and we can fix that."

A great way to understand the future priorities for a company is to see where they invest resources. When you look at where Toyota, the Japanese industry giant, has recently invested, it's clear the company is preparing to remain relevant and competitive in the 4th industrial revolution as a result of its investments and innovation in artificial intelligence, big data and robots. With initial funding of $100 million, Toyota AI Ventures invests in tech start-ups and entrepreneurs around the world that are committed to autonomous mobility, data and robotics. Toyota's investments help accelerate getting critical new technologies to market. One of the organization's investments is in May Mobility, a company that is developing self-driving shuttles for college campuses and other areas such as central business districts where low-speed applications are warranted.

Some of China's smartest high school graduates have been recruited to study the manufacturing of AI weaponry to keep Beijing ahead of the war game. The Chinese teenagers are studying at Beijing Institute of Technology, a top university in the country specialising in engineering and national defence. The class, unveiled last month, comprises 31 students who are selected based on their academic achievements and their level of patriotism, according the school. AI weapons, called by some as'killer robots', generally mean automated weapons which select, engage and eliminate human targets without the involvement of other humans. It has been described as the third revolution in warfare - after gunpowder and nuclear arms - and has been a controversial topic due to the ethics behind them.

China's state-run press agency has welcomed two additions to its team of journalists - two news presenters powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Dressed in suit and tie, the AI newsreaders can'learn from live broadcast videos and read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor', according to Xinhua. The digital doppelgangers were modelled after the agency's journalists, English-language anchor Zhang Zhao and his Chinese-language counterpart Qiu Hao, and were jointly developed by Xinhua and search engine company Sogou.com. Tell the difference: China's state-run press agency Xinhua unveiled its first AI anchor (right) based on one of this human presenters Qiu Hao (left) The AI anchors were jointly developed by Xinhua and search engine company Sogou.com The two AI anchors were first seen in action at the ongoing 2018 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang.

Volkswagen plans to dramatically undercut Tesla in a bid to take on Elon Musk's electric car firm. Reuters claims the firm is planning to sell its'MEB entry' vehicle for just £22,836 (20,000 euros) and plans to make 200,000 of them a year. Tesla's base Model 3 will cost $35,000 - but is not yet available, with the cheapest version on sale costing $45,000. Volkswagen will manufacture 10 million cars that are affordable and all-electric. All of them will be based on its modular MEB platform, which includes the'ID' concept cars (pictured).