Hundreds of companies are incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their technologies to predict, prevent and defeat the next major cyber attack. At RSA last month IBM joined the pack, announcing Watson for Cyber Security and demonstrating the huge potential for artificial intelligence to support the infosec community. With internet crime growing at the rate it is, businesses need all the help they can get. According to PwC, the number of security incidents across all industries rose by 38% in 2015. See also: Where does machine learning fit in the education sector?

Darktrace's "digital antibodies" have stopped one Brexit-themed data protection threat: while trialling the machine-learning anti-hacking system's latest security automation tool, one company was alerted to an insider threat. A previously well-behaved employee reacted angrily to their employers' strategy for dealing with Brexit by digging out confidential documents with the aim of leaking them, but the would-be Julian Assange was spotted by Darktrace's Antigena, which not only uses machine learning to hunt for threats but also automates the response. "It's an interesting example, not because of Brexit, but because this staffer never leaked anything in the past," Dave Palmer, DarkTrace's director of technology tells WIRED – making such a threat hard for human colleagues to spot. "The documents were blocked from leaving the organisation." The British cybersecurity startup uses machine learning to hunt for odd behaviour on corporate systems, meaning its Enterprise Immune System can spot zero-days and other hard to find attacks.

Artist Neil Harbisson wears an antenna that allows him to "hear" color through vibrations in his skull. From prosthetics to pharmaceuticals, humans have been using technology to alter their physical and mental capabilities for thousands of years. Now, with our rapid advances in technology, some people are embracing human augmentation as a means of expressing themselves and experiencing the world in a totally different way. Neil Harbisson, 33, is one of these people. The artist was born with achromatopsia, or complete color-blindness.

Greater protections are needed to stop robots stealing your job, according to a renowned organisation of international lawyers. Legal experts are concerned that the pace of developments in artificial intelligence are outstripping the ability of global governments to make laws to deal with the consequences. And they are worried that this is leading to is gap between current legislation and new laws - including'human job quotas' - that they feel are necessary to protect people from being replaced by machines. The International Bar Association has issued a report detailing the threats posed to people's jobs by artificial intelligence. The International Bar Association has warned that up to a third of graduate jobs around the world could be made obsolete by artificial intelligence.

An extremely sophisticated Android app designed to spy on users has been discovered by security researchers. Called Chrysaor, it's capable of spying on users through their smartphone camera and microphone, as well as accessing messages, emails, contact details and browser history. In Greek mythology, Chrysaor was the brother of Pegasus, the winged horse. The spyware was thus named because it's believed to be linked to Pegasus, spyware that was found to be targeting handsets running iOS last year. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

MOVE Guides, a cloud solution provider of global workforce relocation technology/services for businesses, is acquiring Estonia-based Teleport – a provider of relocation tools for individuals. This transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, will provide a nice tuck-in deal for MOVE Guides. An in-depth look at MOVE Guides can be found here. The acquisition was apparently the culminating event after a series of partnership activities between the two companies. Both firms' solutions help take the friction and cost out of employee moves although each firm offers quite different but complementary solutions.

The House of Lords Liaison Committee has said there should be an ad hoc committee on artificial intelligence, but has rejected an application for an investigation of national identity cards. The committee advises the House of Lords on the resources that are required for select committees' work, as well as reviewing their activity and considering proposals for new committee activities. This includes reviewing peers' proposals for new ad hoc committees, of which there are four per session. The House of Lords yesterday agreed to the committee's latest report, New Investigative Committees in the 2017-18 Session, which sets out the four ad hoc committees for the next parliamentary session, as well as those applications that did not succeed. Speaking in the Lords, senior deputy speaker and Liaison Committee chairman John McFall said that the four ad hoc committees would be on AI; citizenship and civic engagement; political polling and digital media; and on the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

I'm Nathan Benaich -- welcome to issue #18 of my AI newsletter! I will synthesise a narrative that analyses and links important happenings, data, research and startup activity from the AI world. Grab your hot beverage of choice and enjoy the read! If you're looking to invest, research, build, or buy AI-driven companies, do hit reply and drop me a line. In a massive deal this quarter, Intel CEO agreed to purchase Mobileye for $15.3bn. The 18-year old NYSE-listed Israeli company holds a portfolio of camera-based computer vision, sensor fusion, mapping and driving policy products for advanced driver assistance features such as pedestrian, vehicle and sign detection as well as relationships with Tier 1 OEMs. Intel takes the view that "whoever has the best data can develop the best AI". Intel already has a strong position in silicon (in-house Nervana and Movidius), memory and communications.

There's an old story that some people in the pro-tech lobby like to tell about progress. A mound of earth needs to be dug up and moved from one spot on a construction site to another. The site manager decides to use a mechanical digger, but gets chastised by a union representative: "Without your machine, that job could be honest work for ten men with shovels." "Yes," comes the reply, "and without your shovels, it could be honest work for 100 men with teaspoons." It seems to be a compelling fable about the future of work and the way we live: it's foolish and futile to resist advances in technology and the benefits they bring.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The leaders of Russia, Germany and France agreed in a phone call on Tuesday to speed up the exchange of data aimed at fighting terrorism, the Kremlin said. They spoke following Monday's deadly bomb attack on a metro train in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg which killed 14 people and wounded 50. The Kremlin said the leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Easter ceasefire declared from April 1. A German government source said: "Merkel urged Putin to use his influence with the separatists (to keep to the April 1 ceasefire)." The Kremlin added that Putin, Merkel and Hollande have agreed to continue contacts on Ukraine.