The US is going to start taking rogue drones out of the air… by launching its own drones to smash into them. Attacks using consumer drones are on the rise. In 2017, ISIS forces in Mosul attacked US-backed Iraqi troops with dozens of consumer drones dropping grenades, and earlier this year a swarm of small drones attacked a Russian airbase in Syria. Such attacks are difficult to counter with existing weapons.

Are we really committed to prohibiting chemical weapons, or only committed if no one is upset, only committed if no one complains, only committed if no one is put out?

"Predatory" payments in hugely popular computer games like Fortnite and Hearthstone are equivalent to gambling but are unregulated and could lead young people to addiction and financial difficulty, experts are warning. In the wake of gaming addiction being recognised by the World Health Organisation, psychologists have drawn attention to what they describe as the "increasing similarity of gaming and gambling" in what has rapidly grown into a multi-billion-pound entertainment sector. They single out a type of in-game micropayment known as "loot boxes", where players buy a random reward, potentially including rare characters or powerful weapons. In an editorial published on Thursday in the journal Addiction, Dr Daniel King and Professor Paul Delfabbro, of the University of Adelaide, said: "These schemes may entice some players with access to credit cards to spend more money than they can afford." Younger players in particular are "less equipped" to reign in their spending, the pair warned. In Fortnite, the wildly popular survival shoot-'em-up which has a free to play version, players can access a campaign to play alongside friends and use the game's "V-Buck" currency to buy quirky llama loot piñatas, which give a random reward. Coins can be bought with real money or won more slowly through the game. More expensive llamas, such as the Legendary Troll Loot Truck Lllama, cost at least £10 in V-bucks but include 20 items.

The race to transform the global auto industry has reached full throttle. Facing what has been touted as a once-in-a-century transformation, domestic carmakers are rushing to transition from conventional manufacturers into tech-driven "mobility companies" focused on CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and electric) technologies. Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday unveiled two revamped models -- the Crown and the Corolla Sport -- the first offerings in its lineup of so-called "connected cars" that will be able to utilize online services offered through a special communications network. The networked models, for example, allow their owners to become "friends" with them on Line. The owner can then use the messaging app to set a destination on the car's navigation system, while the car can use it to remind the driver to start on time and make sure there is enough fuel for the trip. Toyota hopes its so-called mobility service platform will allow other companies, including insurers and car-sharing services, to make use of big data to offer other services to drivers of connected cars.

It has played football with former U.S. President Barack Obama and danced for German leader Angela Merkel, but Honda's ASIMO robot may have reached the end of the line. Launched in 2000, the humanoid machine resembling a shrunken spaceman has become arguably Japan's most famous robot, wheeled out to impress visiting politicians over the years. But Honda said Thursday it may scrap future generations of ASIMO, now on its seventh iteration. "We will still continue research into humanoid robots, but our future robots may not be named ASIMO," Honda spokesman Hajime Kaneko said. The comment came after NHK reported that the carmaker had terminated ASIMO and dissolved the team making it.

OSAKA – Nintendo Co. has resumed sales in Japan of a smaller, palm-sized version of its 35-year-old popular "Famicom" game console, in response to requests from fans for its revival. Many stores in Japan sold out of the Nintendo Classic Mini Family Computer console after its initial release in November 2016, and the firm halted its production in April 2017. As of Thursday the mini console is now back on sale, preloaded with 30 games -- including "Super Mario Bros." and "The Legend of Zelda" -- and carries a suggested retail price of ¥6,458 (about $59). Players can plug the console into a television or PC monitor and play the games with a pair of controllers. Major home electronics chain Yodobashi Camera Co. promoted the console at a flagship outlet in front of JR Osaka Station. A 43-year-old man was among the customers who purchased the palm-sized device, saying, "I was not able to buy it at the first launch due to supply shortages.

The increased usage of artificial intelligence (AI) will enable companies to explore new areas and opportunities, say data science experts as they encourage the travel industry to worry less about the complexity and focus more on the adoption of the system. Speaking at the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning panel organised by Agoda on Monday, Yaron Zeidman, chief technology officer of Agoda, advised: "An important part of data is to collect as much as possible, even if you're not using it today." Agoda employs AI not just in its chat system, but also in recommending similar hotels to users according to their previous bookings and searches. Idan Zalzberg, Agoda's vice president, data engineering, added that companies must "empower all employees – not just one team – to access data science" as it is "integral to every part of the product". He added: "Don't fall into the trap of defining AI as a complicated model. Take time to test and find an AI system that you can really trust."

Artificial intelligence (AI) can result in large number of job losses and the United Nations should adopt guidelines to have social control over use of such technologies, said Nobel laureate and social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus. "AI for me is the most dangerous thing. We are excited that all the things will be done by the machine... at the same time lots of people will be losing their jobs. We can do that, but we are not doing that because we are so busy reducing the cost of production and make the profit margin larger, not to benefit you and me," said Yunus in an interview with ET ahead of the 8th Social Business Day to be held at the Infosys campus in Bengaluru. Yunus, who is globally regarded as the father of microfinance, believes that businesses do not talk about the flip side or the "curse" of AI. "There should be guidelines on the use of (AI) technology. United nations should adopt these guidelines and every nation should certify and articulate it more," said the social entrepreneur from Bangladesh, claiming that AI bots could eventually take over complex works from human beings.

One of the top universities in China, Tsinghua University, established an institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Thursday, June 28. The newly-established institute, according to a report by Chinese news outlet Netease Technology, aims to make fundamental innovations in both theories and key technologies of AI, and broaden the influence of Tsinghua University. Professor Zhang Bo from the school's Department of Computer Science and Technology, who is also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will be the head of the institute. Chinese computer scientist Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, who won the most prestigious award in computer science -- the Turing Award, in 2000, will be the director of the institute's academic committee. Additionally Jeffrey Dean, head of Google.ai--Google's

One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction.