Humans may live longer and longer, but eventually we all grow old and die. This leads to a simple question: Is there an intrinsic maximum limit to human lifespan or not? There are two equally simple answers. Either there is a limit or there isn't. Soft pretzels are one of the best things to come out of concession stands, but homemade pretzels are a million times better.

Rinna, a fully functioning AI program developed by Microsoft Japan has fallen into a suicidal depression. Given its own Twitter account, the AI system began sharing jokes about its creators and comments on social media trends.

I suppose it makes sense, given the electronics now being stuffed into autos enroute to a driverless future. Consider Toyota, which developed a robot called Kirobo and had it launched to the International Space Station some three years ago. Just over a foot tall, Kirobo became pals with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, becoming something of a conversation partner and doubtless helping the entire crew lighten their long hours of work in space. So successful was Kirobo at the task that Toyota has now announced Kirobo Mini, a diminutive version of the machine, that will go on sale next year in Japan. The robot made its first appearance last year at the Tokyo Motor Show, reinforcing the idea that transforming artificial intelligence can spawn new lines of technology no matter what a company's background.

Omron's table tennis robot is getting smarter. At this week's Ceatec electronics show in Japan, the company has unveiled a new version that uses machine learning to assess the strength of an opponent and ramp up its game accordingly. The robot, named Forpheus, was first shown at the event in 2014 to impressive reviews. A series of robotic arms manipulate a table tennis bat, guided by cameras that watch the ball and predict where it's going to land. Omron developed the robot to promote the company's sensor technology and this latest version is showing off some of what can be done when sensing combines with machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

In the early 1970s, Hannah Arendt wrote a devastating critique of the Pentagon's Vietnam-era penchant for policy by counting. "The problem-solvers did not judge," she wrote. Exuding the spirit of gamblers rather than statesmen, the decision-makers played "the percentage game", counting whatever could be counted and ignoring the rest, or the underlying problems, with "an utterly irrational confidence in the calculability of reality". With artificial intelligence and machine learning, technologies that are fast becoming very significant actors, "we are in another moment of irrational confidence", says renowned technology and culture researcher Kate Crawford. Aiming at population-level predictive gambles, these technologies filter who and what counts, including "who is released from jail, what kind of treatment you'll get in hospital, the very news that you see".

She is the head of HR for one of the largest banks in the world. She has a difficult mandate to execute. She has had to shut down a branch in a small city because that branch is no longer profitable. Many of the jobs in the bank that were once being done by humans have been handed over to robots or "bots" as they are called. "Is Artificial Intelligence a job killer", I ask her.

Star Trek got it right: In the future, we'll use computers by talking to them. Artificial intelligence will open the door to ever-more devastating attacks - but the most effective ones may be the most subtle, Darktrace's Dave Palmer says.China Photos/Getty Images Computational sustainability is a new interdisciplinary research field with the overarching goal of developing computational models, methods, and tools to help manage the balance between environmental, economic, and societal needs for a sustainable future. I will provide examples of computational sustainability problems, ranging from wildlife conservation and biodiversity, to poverty mitigation, to materials discovery for renewable energy materials. Technology # In the AI wars, Google wants to change the world one'Pixel' at a time By ECONOMICTIMES.COM Updated: 8 Oct, 2016, 11:50 hrs IST VIEW IN APP Hardware devices launched by Google are beads of pearl strung together by their A.I. powered technology running on clouds. By Sreeraman Thiagarajan Since Steve Jobs' version of Macintosh the one that was'the computer for the rest of us', to today's iPhone7, hardware devices are the strategy and cloud is a tactic at App...

Question: I own a single-family home in a common-interest development. One of the reasons we purchased this house was because we knew it had covenants, conditions and restrictions, and felt that we won't have to worry about policing our neighbors. That's what the board is supposed to do. But after only a year, I'm very frustrated. There are a few condominiums here, so parts of our complex have a higher density.

Artificial intelligence will open the door to ever-more devastating attacks -- but the most effective ones may be the most subtle, Darktrace's Dave Palmer says. Imagine you've got a meeting with a client, and shortly before you leave, they send you over a confirmation and a map with directions to where you're planning to meet. It all looks normal -- but the entire message was actually written by a piece of smart malware mimicking the client's email mannerisms, with a virus attached to the map. It sounds pretty far out -- and it is, for now. But that's the direction that Dave Palmer, director of technology at cybersecurity firm Darktrace, thinks the arms race between hackers and security firms is heading.