Computer science has long been a discipline seemingly dominated by males, with the number of women in the field, and even of those graduating with technology degrees, perennially lagging behind the number of men. A recent study by the National Girls Collaborative Project in the United States and the success of conferences like "Women in Data" in the UK suggest that this may be beginning to change, and one catalyst for that change may be the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence (AI). Take Cylance, the fastest growing cyber-security software startup in the past ten years, according to research firm Gartner. The company developed an AI-based alternative to traditional antivirus (AV) -- and just recruited the second female member for its fast-growing data scientist team, now numbering 14. Another example of a company embracing women in the field of AI is Fast Forward Labs, an organisation that works with businesses to accelerate their data science and machine intelligence capabilities.

When British charity The Samaritans was forced to abandon its'Radar' Twitter app in 2014, many in the health community worried that emerging AI technology was poorly suited to the sensitivity of mental illness. The app, designed to read users' tweets for evidence of suicidal thoughts, was criticised for a host of reasons, with one online petition accusing Radar of breaching the privacy of vulnerable Twitter users by alerting everybody – friends and foe alike – of their condition. But three years on, it appears the incident has not halted AI's incursion into psychological healthcare, which artificial intelligence developers believe could be one of their technology's most exciting applications. One such backer is Jim Schwoebel, CEO of US-based NeuroLex, who made headlines last year with his tool to help doctors screen patients for schizophrenia. When Schwoebel's brother developed psychosis, he told The Atlantic last year, doctors required more than 10 primary-care appointments before he was diagnosed.

Sean Ruddy and his team of operator-soldiers from the US Cyber Brigade entered a Locked Shields, a NATO-organized cyber-defense war game that pits teams from dozens of countries against "live-fire" attacks. It was their first time. And of the 19 countries represented, the US finished dead last. This week, they got their shot at redemption. Locked Shields challenges participating countries to show off their defensive prowess, rather than offensive firepower.

It is not unusual for staff to moan about an unfeeling "robotic" manager or the "computer says no" mentality of their HR department. But if the predictions of technology soothsayers are to be believed, those complaints could soon take on a much more literal dimension. A 2015 study by Oxford University and Deloitte suggested that around 35 per cent of existing UK jobs are likely to become automated in the next 20 years, with administrative jobs or those involving repetitive tasks most likely to be replaced by some form of automation. It seems likely that this will lead to significant job losses, as well as changing the workplace substantially for those whose jobs remain. Read more: Here's how to stop a robot taking your job So what could this look like in practice?

Less than six months ago, Mark Zuckerberg dismissed the idea that the social publishing platform he founded was being used to manipulate voters as "pretty crazy." But in a new report, Facebook now says it has data that "does not contradict" a key U.S. intelligence report that describes "information warfare" ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and carried out on Facebook and across the web. "Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency," officials wrote in a declassified version of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence report in January. Guided by the Russian government's "clear preference" for Donald Trump, the DNI report said, Moscow followed a strategy "that blends covert intelligence operations--such as cyber activity--with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or'trolls.'" Scholars have long theorized about the possibility of people manipulating public opinion on Facebook--Facebook itself carried out a mood experiment on its users--but U.S. intelligence officials call Moscow's latest meddling "unprecedented."

It's a pet obsession that both physicist Stephen Hawking and entrepreneur Elon Musk -- two people credited with pushing the boundaries of technology and science in pioneering ways -- have in common: Rampaging intelligence, borne within machines, could end the human race if utilized dangerously. AI has become one of the great, meaningless buzzwords of our time. In this video, the Chief Data Scientist of Dun and Bradstreet explains AI in clear business terms. "I believe there is no real difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer," said Hawking in a video appearance at the 2017 Global Mobile Internet Conference Beijing. "Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and could be superseded by AI," he added.

Cutting-edge, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and big data are among the fastest growing areas for investment according to analysis of venture capital flows into London's tech sector carried out by the founders of London Tech Week. The findings reveal that London's AI and machine learning companies have become particularly attractive for investors, with 20 times more investment in 2016 (£85.75 million) than the amount raised in 2011 (£3 million). Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal said: "London is the technology capital of Europe. With a rich melting pot of creative talent, London is leading the way in the development of emerging technologies such as mobile payments, big data and artificial intelligence. Our world-class tech sector is creating jobs and growth across the city, with Londoners working alongside the best and brightest from across Europe and all over the world."

In response to advances in neuroscience and technologies that alter or read brain activity, some researchers are proposing a recognition of new human rights to mental integrity. These would protect people from having their thoughts abused, hacked, or stolen. The idea of this kind of human right is a recognition that although brain-related technologies have the potential to transform our lives in many positive ways, they also have the potential to threaten personal freedom and privacy. A large portion of brain-related technology owes its development to medical research and physical need; some diagnostic tools and treatments, for example, need to "read" brain activity. However, this area of research and development has also given birth to performance enhancers, game interfaces, and brain-computer interfaces that can control anything you want them to. According to University of Basel neuroethicist Marcello Ienca and University of Zurich human rights lawyer Roberto Andorno, these advances in neuroscience and technology threaten personal freedom and privacy in new ways.

The purpose of language is to reveal the contents of our minds, says Julie Sedivy. We are social animals and language is what springs us from our isolated selves and unites us with others. Sedivy has taught linguistics and psychology at Brown University and the University of Calgary. She specializes in psycholinguistics, the psychology of language, notably the psychological pressures that give birth to language and comprehension. More recently Sedivy has been writing about language in her own life. She was born in Czechoslovakia, spent time as a kid in Austria and Italy, and came of age in Canada. She speaks Czech, French, and English, and gets by in Spanish, Italian, and German.

In his 2003 book, Being No One, Thomas Metzinger contends there is no such thing as a "self." Rather, the self is a kind of transparent information-processing system. "You don't see it," he writes. "But you see with it." Metzinger has given a good amount of thought to the nature of our subjective experience--and how best to study it.