China is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to build the next generation cruise missiles that will be tailor-made for specific combat situations, media reported on Friday. The multi-functional missiles will aid to future combat missions that will require weapons to be both cost-efficient and flexible. "We plan to adopt a'plug and play' approach in the development of new cruise missiles, which will enable our military commanders to tailor-make missiles in accordance with combat conditions and their specific requirements," Wang Changqing of the China Aerospace and Industry Corp told China Daily newspaper. Changqing added that for future combat, modular design based on AI will be a good solution. "Our future cruise missiles will have a very high level of artificial intelligence and automation," he was quoted as saying.

You can get a pretty good idea of a country's wealth by seeing how much it shines at night -- just compare the intense brightness of China and South Korea to the dark mass of North Korea that's sandwiched between them. But nighttime lights don't tell you which neighborhoods or villages within a large region are merely poor and which are home to people living in abject poverty. That's the level of detail policymakers need when they decide where to deploy their economic development programs. You could get that detail by sending legions of survey-takers into crowded slums and sparsely populated rural areas. But that would be hugely time-consuming and cost tens of millions of dollars or more.

In the next few weeks, some Pittsburghers will get a bunch of surprises when they call an Uber. First, the car will be a Volvo XC90--a luxury SUV a good deal fancier than the seemingly standard-issue Prius. Second, the ride will be free. And third, it'll be driven by a robot. Yes, Uber is launching a pilot fleet of autonomous Volvos in Steel City.

Editor's note: We're proud to bring NextDraft--the most righteous, most essential newsletter on the web--to WIRED.com. Every Friday you'll get a roundup of the week's most popular must-read stories from around the internet, courtesy of mastermind Dave Pell. I don't want to be an alarmist, but there's a chance we're running out of swear words. Over the years, our language has become more coarse, and dropping F bombs and other profanities has been fully integrated into our daily exchanges. As use of the words becomes more acceptable, they lose their power.

Ohio's toll road, a heavily traveled connector between the East Coast and Chicago, is moving closer to allowing the testing of self-driving vehicles. Testing is likely to begin within 12 months, and possibly before the end of the year, the Ohio Turnpike's executive director told The Associated Press. Officials overseeing the roadway have spent more than a year looking at the possibilities, said Randy Cole, the turnpike's director. Vehicles drive along the Ohio Turnpike in Strongsville, Ohio: Officials plan to allow self driving cars to use the route before the end of the year in a bid to teach them how to drive in bad weather. As autonomous vehicle technology improves, it's easy to imagine a world where these vehicles have no need for a human operator which would have a huge impact on those who driving for a living.

When was the last time you asked your computer something? There's Siri, Google, and Cortana of course, but these systems, clever as they may be, are the thin end of a newly emerging wedge of remarkable new approaches to computer learning and marketing. If you need proof that we are entering a new era of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) you need to look no further than Google's DeepMind project. Early this year DeepMind, Google's AI computer, developed initially in London, challenged and beat South Korean Grandmaster Lee Sedol at the ancient game of Go. Why this challenge is so important requires you to think back to the Deep Blue computer, which finally beat Gary Kasparov at chess in the 1990s. Deep Blue had it easy.

The Chinese military is looking to adapt its technology with the belief that future combat missions will require weapons to be both cost-efficient and flexible. They will also be based on a modular design, which will allow the missiles to be configured in regards to what mission they will be carrying out. "We plan to adopt a'plug and play' approach in the development of new cruise missiles, which will enable our military commanders to tailor-make missiles in accordance with combat conditions and their specific requirements," Wang Changqing of the China Aerospace and Industry Corp told China Daily newspaper. He added that Chinese engineers had been researching the use of artificial intelligence in cruise missiles for a number of years and that the country was the world leader in this field. However, he did not produce any evidence to back up his claims.

Mankind has been tempted and teased by the concept of flying cars at least since 1940, when Henry Ford quipped, "Mark my word: a combination airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come." Over 70 years later, the promise of airborne automobiles continues to make headlines, in part because they're still absent from the skies. But Airbus says it has heeded the call of sci-fi fans and frustrated commuters around the world. Earth's population is still growing and people are flocking to urban areas.

The only thing certain about the global economy is uncertainty. Thanks to political unrest, terrorist attacks, and the repercussions of Brexit, caution is the dominant mindset of investors in every market, according to the latest quarterly global report on venture capital trends published jointly by KPMG International and CB Insights. This is the fourth consecutive quarter where investors pulled back despite a total 27.4 billion invested across 1,886 deals--seven of which were in the 1 billion unicorn range. After a high at this time last year, the total number of deals declined an additional 6% from the first quarter of 2016. Although the percentage may appear incremental, startup and earlystage company growth are important to the global economy.

On Friday, one of China's leading tech companies, Cheetah Mobile, announced the 57 million acquisition of New Republic--a move that signals its "journey of a transformation," according to CTO Charles Fan, highlighting its investment in AI and transition into a mobile content company. Founded in 2010, Cheetah Mobile began as a mobile tools provider. Over the last six years, it has become a major player in China's tech scene--and made a big impact, globally. Fan told TechRepublic that the company has over 650,000,000 monthly active users, internationally, in Q1. Fan said he sees the company as a "bridge between China and the world." What makes Cheetah Mobile different, he said, is that 80% of their mobile users are outside of China.