TechCrunch reports on a new $27 million fund designed to promote research into artificial intelligence in the public interest. The Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund aims to support a "cross-section of AI ethics and governance projects and activities" in the U.S. and around the world. Meanwhile a supplementary paper from the World Economic Forum -- which just released its Global Risks Report 2017 -- raises concerns about weaponized AI, cyberattacks through internet-of-things devices, and the use of biotechnology. Researchers from Oxford University have released a report detailing how the General Data Protection Regulation could heavily impact the rollout of AI and machine learning. Separately, the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee has urged the European Commission to create rules around the ethical use and liability of robotics.

The rise of the chatbots continues as Cleo, a virtual money assistant described by its creators as the "Siri of personal finance," has launched on Facebook Messenger for users in the UK, reports Paybefore (Banking Technology's sister publication). The platform connects securely to bank and credit card accounts, enabling users to track spending, set budgets and receive reminders and alerts via text or voice commands. Along with Facebook Messenger, Cleo also is available as a standalone app or through integration with Amazon's Alexa and Google Home. The Facebook Messenger integration is a major step forward for Cleo, which was founded in 2016 and thus far has received $700,000 in funding from angel investors, including Skype founder Niklas Zennström. Currently, Cleo is only available in the UK, but the company is planning expansion into additional markets soon.

It was no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on business was a key talking point at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Davos 2017), especially as concern of AI-powered machinery displacing human workers grows. Speaking at an AI panel at Davos 2017, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed how simple it was to eliminate human input altogether: "its augmentation or replacement – that's a design choice. You can say replacement [of humans] is the goal, or you can say augmentation is the goal." But while Microsoft are developing tech to aid with human interaction, others may be less willing to design AI machinery that interacts with humans, instead opting to replace them altogether. However, the way in which AI is currently being developed is to work alongside individuals, or, as IBM CEO Ginni Rometty at the panel puts it, "in service" of them.

Daimler, the maker of luxury Mercedes-Benz autos and commercial trucks, will supply self-driving vehicles for use on Uber's network as the ride-hailing company works to open its platform to automakers. The arrangement calls for vehicles equipped with autonomous drive technology developed in-house by Daimler to go into service for Uber "in the coming years," the company's said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Uber began testing self-driving cars last year in Pittsburgh, modified Ford Fusion sedans and Volvo XC90 SUVs, equipped with its own system. It briefly expanded the test service to San Francisco in December before a dispute with California's Department of Motor Vehicles led to it pull the plug and ship its test fleet to Arizona. "Auto manufacturers like Daimler are crucial to our strategy because Uber has no experience making cars--and in fact, making cars is really hard," Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO said in a blog post. "That's why instead of building them ourselves, we want to partner with the best auto manufacturers in the world."

LONDON – Scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that reads the brain's blood oxygen levels and enables communication by deciphering the thoughts of patients who are totally paralyzed and unable to talk. In a trial of the system in four patients with complete locked-in syndrome -- incapable of moving even their eyes to communicate -- it helped them use their thought waves to respond yes or no to spoken questions. People who are paralyzed except for up and down eye movements and blinking are classified as having locked-in syndrome. If all eye movements are lost, the condition is referred to as complete locked-in syndrome. Researchers leading this trial said the brain-computer interface (BCI), which is noninvasive, could transform the lives of such patients, allowing them to express feelings and opinion to their loved ones and carers.

Robots may be used to care for elderly people lacking family aid, according to a team of academics who estimated the highly advanced artificial intelligence could be available within three years, BBC News reported Monday. The international team, sponsored by the European Union and Japanese government, have begun a $2.5 million project in an attempt to develop robots capable of looking after older people. More than 1 million elderly people were lacking the daily living assistance they need, according to charity Age UK. Researchers said robots would not only help out with physical tasks, but also provide companionship with uniquely programmed, culturally sensitive personalities. "Assistive, intelligent robots for older people could relieve pressures in hospitals and care homes as well as improving care delivery at home and promoting independent living for the elderly," Professor Irena Papadopoulos, an expert in transcultural nursing, told BBC. "It is not a question of replacing human support but enhancing and complementing existing care."

They're coming to drive your car, they're coming for your job, and they're coming for your heart. Like, you may literally have a robotic heart one day. That is, if a peculiar new device is any indication. Researchers have developed a robotic sleeve that fits over the heart (well, a pig's heart at the moment) and pumps like the organ would itself. The idea is that if a patient is going into cardiac arrest, the best way to help the heart is to be the heart. One day that may mean patients with cardiac problems could get their own robotic heart to kick in if their ticker starts to give way.

Iranian-born bioengineer researcher Nima Enayati works on a robotic surgery machine during an interview with the Associated Press at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. An Iranian researcher at Milan's Polytechnic University, Enayati was refused check-in Monday at Milan's Malpensa Airport for his U.S.-bound flight on Turkish Airlines after the Trump administration's executive order came down. Iranian-born bioengineer researcher Nima Enayati works on a robotic surgery machine during an interview with the Associated Press at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. An Iranian researcher at Milan's Polytechnic University, Enayati was refused check-in Monday at Milan's Malpensa Airport for his U.S.-bound flight on Turkish Airlines after the Trump administration's executive order came down. Iranian-born bioengineer researcher Nima Enayati stands as he works on a robotic surgery machine during an interview with the Associated Press at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017.

Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have joined prominent artificial intelligence researchers in pledging support for principles to protect mankind from machines and a potential AI arms race. An open letter published by the Future of Life Institute (FLI) on Monday outlined the Asilomar AI Principles--23 guidelines to ensure the development of artificial intelligence that is beneficial to humanity. For decades, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov's'Three Laws of Robotics' were a cornerstone for the ethical development of robots and artificial intelligence machines. First laid out in his 1942 short story Runaround, Asimov's three principles stated: A robot must not harm a human through action or inaction; a robot must obey humans; and a robot must protect its own existence. Each rule takes precedence over the rules that follow it in order to ensure a human's life is protected over the existence of a robot.

Robotic cars are great at monitoring other cars, and they're getting better at noticing pedestrians, squirrels, and birds. The main challenge, though, is posed by the lightest, quietest, swerviest vehicles on the road. "Bicycles are probably the most difficult detection problem that autonomous vehicle systems face," says UC Berkeley research engineer Steven Shladover. Nuno Vasconcelos, a visual computing expert at the University of California, San Diego, says bikes pose a complex detection problem because they are relatively small, fast and heterogenous. "A car is basically a big block of stuff. A bicycle has much less mass and also there can be more variation in appearance -- there are more shapes and colors and people hang stuff on them."