In as little as 20 years, all of the jobs that we do today could be performed by robots. A lot of people are concerned this will create massive unemployment. But I look forward to the robots taking over. I'm not saying this just to curry favour with our new robot overlords; but I think life is going to be a whole lot better. Steve Wozniak recently suggested that we will become robots' pets.

Two miles apart in Palo Alto, workers from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are hustling to establish a role for their companies in a future in which consumers don't own cars and the vehicles steer themselves. On Thursday, it became ever more clear that the Michigan automakers and their West Coast outposts won't be going at it alone. They'll be depending big time on software-developing neighbors in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Ford announced an 182.2-million investment in Pivotal Software Inc., a San Francisco company whose programs are already used by the likes of Lockheed Martin and Allstate Corp., to quickly develop their own computer applications. "Expanding our business to be both an auto and mobility company requires leading-edge software expertise," Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields said in a statement.

An artificial intelligence (AI) device may sit and (perhaps) pass the national college entrance exam ("gaokao") in math in 2017, a tech company said Thursday. The AI test taker, part of a project by the Ministry of Science and Technology, was designed by Chengdu Zhun Xing Yun Xue Technology Co., Ltd. According to the plan, the AI will attend next year's gaokao math test, usually on June 7, along with millions of Chinese students. Like its human peers, it will be asked to complete a 150-point math test in two hours in a room without Internet access. Fu Hongguang, who leads the development team, said the key to passing the exam includes understanding the language and knowledge inference.

The famous inventor and computer scientist Ray Kurzweil has made some very bold predictions about the pace at which human technology is advancing toward the ultimate threshold. That threshold is known as "The Singularity." That epithet is a metaphor borrowed from physics terminology to express the point at which information technology--specifically artificial intelligence--becomes sufficiently advanced as to irreversibly alter the course of history on earth. While The Singularity may be a familiar cautionary tale told by renowned thinkers such as Bill Gates, Carl Sagan, and Stephen Hawking, and artistically explored through the famous sci-trope of sentient robots, e.g. But that depends on how you choose to define doom, specifically.

Having a positive attitude could be evolutionarily advantageous, researchers have found. They created a series of algorithms to model how simulated humans coped. It found those who survived were more content, and valued long term happiness more that short terms gains. Cornell researchers created a series of algorithms to model how simulated humans coped. It found those who valued long term happiness more that short terms gains fared best.

Sticking to one task at a time is an increasing rarity, as things such as checking social media while watching TV, or online shopping while on the phone become the norm. But if you have ever talked to a friend or family member while tapping out emoji on WhatsApp, only to realise you've missed half the conversation, you'll know how juggling tasks can cause you to lose focus. Now, a new poll has found that constant multitasking may actually be hindering our performance, reducing focus for parents and children. Research from the US suggests that constant multitasking may actually be hindering our performance, reducing focus for parents and children alike. While tech has an increasingly important role in modern life, a poll of 1,200 parents and teens in the US found the constant multitasking and omnipresence of tech is leading to an'always on' mentality.

Swarms of drones could soon bring relief to drought-stricken regions by'seeding' clouds to increase rainfall. In a step towards that goal, a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft has, for the first time, successfully managed to seed a cloud during a test flight in Nevada. The Savant aircraft – named the'Sandoval Silver State Seeder' – fired off two silver-iodide flares during its 18 minute flight at Hawthorne Industrial Airport. A fixed-wing unmanned aircraft has, for the first time, successfully managed to'seed' a cloud during a test flight in Nevada. The Savant aircraft – named the'Sandoval Silver State Seeder' – fired off two silver-iodide flares during its 18 minute flight at Hawthorne Industrial Airport Microscopic particles of silver iodide are shot into existing clouds using land based generators or aircraft.

A video game that allowed players to zap marching aliens with dot lasers and another that gave them flamethrowers and put them in the driver's seat in a violent 3-D world are among six games inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. 'Space Invaders' and'Grand Theft Auto III,' along with'The Oregon Trail,' ''Sonic the Hedgehog,' ''The Legend of Zelda' and'The Sims,' were honoured Thursday for their influence on gaming and pop culture at the hall inside The Strong museum in Rochester. 'Space Invaders' wasn't the first shooter game when it was introduced in Japan in 1978, but it spurred many imitators and a craze for arcade games, said Jeremy Saucier, assistant director of The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games. In this April 21, 2016 photo provided by The Strong museum in Rochester, N.Y., the 2016 inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame are displayed. From top left, clockwise, are'Grand Theft Auto III,' 'Space Invaders,' 'Sonic the Hedgehog,' 'The Sims,' 'The Legend of Zelda,' and'The Oregon Trail.'

A pair of glasses that is able to'read' text and convert it into speech allowing blind and visually impaired people has been tested by scientists. The device looks like a small camera attached to the side of a pair of glasses. Using OCR - optical character reading - technology, the camera and tiny computer it contains can read printed materials. A pair of glasses (pictured) that is able to'read' text and convert it into speech allowing blind and visually impaired people has been tested by scientists. It is activated by pointing it at an object and pressing a trigger button.

Footage of Canadian soldiers sporting Kurdish flags on their uniforms in Iraq has raised questions about Canada's military training mission in the war-torn country. Canadian military personnel are training Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Footage shot by Canadian news channel CTV in Iraq showed Canadian troops wearing the red, green and white flag of Kurdistan, with a yellow sun at its centre, on one sleeve of their uniforms in late April. A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence told Al Jazeera the Kurdish flag is being used to ensure troop safety. "Our members are wearing the flag of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to enhance cohesion with partner forces and to ensure easy visual identification, which contributes to force protection," Daniel Lebouthillier said in an email.