In 1942, Isaac Asimov attempted to lay out a moral framework for how robots can serve humans. The science fiction writer came up with "three laws of robotics", meant to prevent machines from harming their human creators. This is a concept Eric Horvitz, technical fellow, Artificial Intelligence and Research and head of Microsoft Research's Global Labs, has been studying for decades. In 2014, he set up the'One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence', which will study the future of AI every five years for a century. The project's first report last year said that "AI-based applications could improve health outcomes and the quality of life for millions of people in the coming years".

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Russia on Wednesday identified the village from which a swarm of drones attacked its main military base in Syria and released photographs of the crudely constructed aircraft that were used. The revelations only somewhat cleared up the mystery surrounding what amounts to the biggest concerted attack on Russia's main military base of Hmeimim since the Russian military intervention in Syria began in 2015. Russia said it held Turkey accountable for the drone attack, calling it a breach of their cease-fire agreement in northern Syria, while Turkey accused Russia and Iran of jeopardizing the entire peace process by launching an offensive to take control of an opposition-held air base in the area. The Russian Defense Ministry named the opposition-controlled village of Muwazarra in southern Idlib province as the location from which a swarm of at least a dozen drones armed with crude explosives was launched Saturday, attacking the Hmeimim air base and the nearby naval base of Tartus in northwestern Syria. Under the cease-fire deal, Turkey is supposed to restrain opposition forces in Idlib province.

Smartphone and tablet computer apps are seeing increasing use in Japanese schools as teachers look to capitalize on what has become many young people's preferred window to the world. Artificial intelligence-assisted apps have become prevalent in education, particularly in subjects many Japanese teachers struggle to teach well. One subject educators need help with is teaching English, a task that will become all the more important when speaking ability enters the joint achievement test in 2020, part of Japan's high-pressure university entrance exams. Nippon Sports Science University Kashiwa High School in Chiba Prefecture uses an app called TerraTalk to help students improve their English conversation skills. The school introduced the app last summer for use by students planning to study abroad.

The Japanese electronics company showed off Aibo's new tricks at CES 2018 in Las Vegas this week. The revamped version of the robotic dog, which Sony first launched in the 1990s, costs ¥198,000 (about $1,740). Pre-orders began in November, and it will start shipping in Japan next week. Sony hasn't said when it might become available in other countries. Aibo drew big crowds at CES, with fans and media eager to see the latest version of the robotic puppy.

In written testimony prepared for a hearing held Tuesday by the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, William Carter, the deputy director for CSIS' technology policy program, said: China sees offensive cyber capabilities, anti-satellite weapons, electronic warfare tools, hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies as key to enabling the PLA [People's Liberation Army] to win wars in future, high-tech conditions and offset the advantages of the U.S. military, and has made significant strides in all of these areas. Specifically, China is already able to "significantly disrupt, degrade, and even destroy the ICT [information and communication technology] infrastructure on which our military depends," namely satellites, Carter told lawmakers, suggesting that by doing so Beijing could essentially take down the American armed forces. "We may have more and better aircraft carriers, tanks, and missiles than the PLA, but without access to data and connectivity many of these systems are ineffective or even inoperable," warned the CSIS expert. He went on to note that China considers satellites to be the U.S. military's "Achilles heel," adding: The PLA has tested a range of anti-satellite weapons, including conventional ground-based kinetic kill vehicles, directed energy weapons, jamming and spoofing capabilities, and "kill-satellites" designed to disable or destroy other satellites on orbit. They have expanded their electronic warfare capabilities, testing their capabilities to jam radar and communications and spoof GPS systems.

For years, major automotive players like Ford, Honda, and Toyota have flaunted their latest advancements in smart car technology at CES. But what may be one of the most ambitious concepts at this year's conference is coming from a little-known startup called Byton, which is showcasing a concept vehicle that will be launching in China next year before moving to the U.S. and Europe in 2020. Pricing will start at $45,000. The vehicle's most striking feature is its gargantuan screen that stretches across the entire dashboard, which the company calls the Shared Experience Display. Byton, like many automotive and technology companies exhibiting this year, aims to add more personalization to the car in order to make commuting feel like less of a chore.

Then Landroid should do the trick. Created by Japan-based Seven Dreamers, this high-tech robot uses artificial intelligence and a special image processing to identify various items of clothing and then fold them. To be more specific, it boasts multiple robotic arms to pick up the clothes, which are then scanned by cameras, and then transmits the data via WiFi for artificial intelligence to analyze the object, as well as a neural network containing 256,000 images of different clothing items. One caveat: you'll need a few hours for it to finish folding a load of laundry, as one shirt takes about 5 minutes to fold. "Clothing items are analyzed piece by piece in order to relay information to the robot arms, but the machine uses the data of the type, size, and color of the clothing to sort it in different ways.

Last year was when talking to a smart speaker started to become the norm, but surprisingly, LG has struggled to replicate the same success with its CLOi series commercial robots. Ahead of LG's CES show, I talked to its Head of Research for Life Robots, Jaewon Chang, who updated on the company's robot trial service in South Korea's Incheon International Airport. Since deployment in July, each of the five Guide Robots has interacted with around 2,500 people. However, only a quarter of travelers used voice interaction, with the majority preferring the touchscreen mounted vertically on the robot's chest. Likewise, just as few people let the robots guide them to their destination.

On the night of 5 January and into the early hours of the next day, Russian forces in Syria came under attack by a "massive application of unmanned aerial vehicles", says the Russian Ministry of Defence. It is the first announced use of a swarm of drones in a military action, but is unlikely to be the last. According to reports, 13 small drones descended on Russian forces, but none did significant damage. Seven were destroyed by anti-aircraft defences and the others were brought down using electronic countermeasures to hijack or jam the drone's controls and land them intact. The captured aircraft seem crudely made, with a wooden undercarriage and plastic sheeting, powered by a small liquid-fuel engine. Under their wings, the drones carried several locally made bombs fitted with 3D printed plastic fins.