Two years ago Stephen Hawking told the BBC that the development of full artificial intelligence, could spell the end of the human race. His was not the only voice warning of the dangers of AI - Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak also expressed their concerns about where the technology was heading - though Professor Hawking's was the most apocalyptic vision of a world where robots decide they don't need us any more. What all of these prophets of AI doom wanted to do was to get the world thinking about where the science was heading - and make sure other voices joined the scientists in that debate. That they have achieved that aim was evident on Wednesday night at an event in Cambridge marking the opening of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence, designed to do some of that thinking about the implications of AI. And Professor Hawking was there to help launch the centre.

The BBC's Orla Guerin reports from the front line as Kurdish troops advance on the Iraqi city of Mosul. Mosul has been in the hands of so-called Islamic State since 2014 and is the militants' last major Iraqi stronghold.

While major tech companies are in a race to develop real-life artificial intelligence applications, self-aware AI might come sooner than you think. Major companies in the tech industry are racing to implement artificial intelligence technology into smartphones and other internet-linked devices in order to make them think like people. CBS News reports that artificial intelligence (AI) projects at Carnegie Mellon aim to bring this emerging technology closed to our daily life. F0r instance, the CMU Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform is a robot designed to perform dangerous tasks in situations that would put humans in too much risk, such as the 2011 disaster in Japan, at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Because CHIMP is designed to be able to work independently in disastrous conditions, it needs both mental and manual good skills.

As one of the most in-demand voice-over actors in Hollywood, Phil LaMarr has worked on a slew of prominent video games, including the "Metal Gear" and "Star Wars" series, last year's "Mortal Kombat X" and the "Injustice" superhero games. The former "MADtv" cast member has experienced some of the physical perils that come with this burgeoning segment of the acting profession. He once worked on a "Terminator 3" game where he was required to shout and scream, and "threw my voice out in under 30 minutes," LaMarr recalled. More recently, he performed a motion-capture role on a game in which he was asked to dangle from a scaffolding. The production, which he declined to name, lacked a stunt coordinator who could ensure his safety.

Just as you might store birthday cards separately from bank statements, the brain keeps nice and nasty information in different places. A new study reveals pleasant experiences are stored in one part of the amygdala - an important memory centre in the brain – while unpleasant ones are housed in another. The researchers say that the discovery of this'filing system' could lead to a'cure for depression' in the future. The study reveals pleasant experiences are stored in one part of the amygdala - an important memory centre in the brain - while unpleasant ones are housed in another. The researchers say that the findings could lead to a'cure for depression' in the future (stock image) To identify the'negative' and'positive' neurons, researchers exposed male mice to an electric shock to the foot – a nasty experience - or the company of a female mouse - a nice experience.

I know, it doesn't seem like there's any possible way that a transmission system could be interesting enough that we'd dedicate an entire article (and video!) to it. But here we are: As soon as SRI explained how their new Abacus transmission worked, we were absolutely sure that it was cool enough to share. In a nutshell, here's why: It's the first new rotary transmission design since Harmonic Drive introduced its revolutionary gear system in the 1960s*, and it might give harmonic gears a literal run for their money. The physics of most electric motors generally dictates that the motors are happiest when they're spinning very fast. Unless you want to use them to simply spin a thing very fast, you'll need to add a rotary transmission that can convert low torque, high speed rotation into higher torque, lower speed rotation. If you've got the budget, the way to do this is with a high-performance harmonic gear like the ones offered by Harmonic Drive.

Mission controllers appear to have lost contact with a tiny craft that was Europe's big hope for Mars exploration. The paddling pool-sized "Schiaparelli" lander appeared to have made its way safely through the harsh atmosphere of Mars and onto its surface. But something appears to have gone wrong while it did so – and mission controllers are now unable to speak with it. The lander sent communications to its mothership, the Trace Gas Orbiter, on its way down. But the signal was lost before touchdown.

Two years ago Stephen Hawking told the BBC that the development of full artificial intelligence, could spell the end of the human race. His was not the only voice warning of the dangers of AI - Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak also expressed their concerns about where the technology was heading - though Professor Hawking's was the most apocalyptic vision of a world where robots decide they don't need us any more. What all of these prophets of AI doom wanted to do was to get the world thinking about where the science was heading - and make sure other voices joined the scientists in that debate. That they have achieved that aim was evident on Wednesday night at an event in Cambridge marking the opening of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence, designed to do some of that thinking about the implications of AI. And Professor Hawking was there to help launch the centre.

Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that artificial intelligence could develop a will of its own that is in conflict with that of humanity. It could herald dangers like powerful autonomous weapons and ways for the few to oppress the many, he said, as he called for more research in the area. But if sufficient research is done to avoid the risks, it could help in humanity's aims to'finally eradicate disease and poverty', he added. He was speaking in Cambridge at the launch of The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, which will explore the implications of the rapid development of artificial intelligence. All great achievements of civilisation, from learning to master fire to learning to grow food to understanding the cosmos, were down to human intelligence, he said. 'I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer.

I had thought my job was safe from automation--a computer couldn't possibly replicate the complex creativity of human language in writing or piece together a coherent story. I may have been wrong. Authors beware, because an AI-written novel just made it past the first round of screening for a national literary prize in Japan. The novel this program co-authored is titled, The Day A Computer Writes A Novel. It was entered into a writing contest for the Hoshi Shinichi Literary Award.