FILE- In this March 1, 2013 file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the Jabhat al-Nusra flag, as they shout slogans during a demonstration, at Kafranbel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group in Syria have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to the country's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say. FILE- In this March 1, 2013 file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the Jabhat al-Nusra flag, as they shout slogans during a demonstration, at Kafranbel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group in Syria have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to the country's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say. WASHINGTON (AP) -- French and Kurdish forces in northern Iraq were attacked by an exploding drone, the Pentagon said Wednesday, adding a new worry to the wars in Iraq and Syria as militant groups learn to weaponize their store-bought drones.

If you're a business executive (rather than a data scientist or machine learning expert), you've probably been exposed to the mainstream media coverage of artificial intelligence or AI. You've seen articles in The Economist and Vanity Fair, you've seen emotional stories about Tesla Autopilot and the threat of AI to mankind by such luminaries as Stephen Hawking, and you might even have seen Dilbert make jokes about Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence. So if you're an executive who cares about growing your business, all this AI media coverage may prompt two nagging questions. First, is the business potential of AI real or not? The answer to the first question is that the business potential of AI is real.

With 270 stations across 11 lines, navigating your way through the London Underground can be a difficult task. But Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence lab has taught a machine to navigate the intricate system on its own - something many tourists to the capital fail to master. The system combines both data processing with self-learning code to navigate the system using human-like memory and reason. While the task of navigating the London Underground is fairly simple, the way in which the new system learned the system is innovative. The system works by combining an external memory with deep-learning – allowing the programme to learn on its own rather than being aided by a human.

British lawmakers want more transparency and less bias in decision-making -- not their own, of course, but in decisions made by AI systems. As more and more software systems and connected devices employ artificial intelligence technologies to make decisions for their owners, the lawmakers want to know what's behind their thinking. The U.K. Parliament's Science and Technology Committee has been studying the need for more regulation in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. Recent advances in AI technology raise a host of social, ethical and legal questions, the committee's members said in a report published Wednesday. We need, they said, to think about whether transparency in decisions made by AI systems is important; whether it's possible to minimise bias being accidentally built into them; and how we might verify that such technology is operating as intended and will not lead to unwanted or unpredictable behaviors.

The White House National Science and Technology Council released a report on the future of artificial intelligence Wednesday that predicted regulatory challenges, future job losses, more capable U.S. cyber-defenses and little chance of a Terminator-esque super-intelligent computer apocalypse. "If computers could exert control over many critical systems, the result could be havoc, with humans no longer in control of their destiny at its best and extinct at its worst," the report, titled "Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence" said. "This scenario has long been the subject of science fiction series, and recent pronouncements from some influential industry leaders have highlighted these fears." The report was likely referencing comments from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and Tesla CEO Elon Musk--and, for what it's worth, several Arnold Schwarzenegger-led dystopian films--warning of the dangers of AI. But the NSTC, a Cabinet-level group that coordinates science and tech policy, held "a more positive view" of AI's future, with the technology's systems serving as "helpers, assistants, trainers and teammates of humans."

FILE- In this March 1, 2013 file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the Jabhat al-Nusra flag, as they shout slogans during a demonstration, at Kafranbel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group in Syria have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to the country's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say. FILE- In this March 1, 2013 file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the Jabhat al-Nusra flag, as they shout slogans during a demonstration, at Kafranbel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group in Syria have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to the country's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Militant groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other and coalition forces, adding a new twist to the wars in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Google scientists have created a computer program that uses basic reasoning to learn to navigate the London Underground system by itself. The same Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent could also answer questions about the content of snippets of stories and work out family relationships by looking at a family tree. Scientists predict that in future a similar approach could pave the way for virtual assistants that would be able to instantaneously scour the internet to answer questions and carry out instructions with precision. Herbert Jaegar, a computer scientist at the University of Bremen, said: "I think this can be described as rational reasoning. They [the tasks] involve planning and structuring information into chunks and re-combining them."

The two covered the ethical implications of machine learning, diversity in tech, neurodiversity, the collapse of funding for basic research, precision medicine, high-speed trading, cybersecurity, robots taking our jobs, internet regulation, space travel, and how Star Trek informed Obama's worldview. OBAMA: I think there's no doubt that developing international norms, protocols, and verification mechanisms around cybersecurity generally, and AI in particular, is in its infancy. Part of what makes this an interesting problem is that the line between offense and defense is pretty blurred. And at a time when there's been a lot of mistrust built up about government, that makes it difficult. When you have countries around the world who see America as the preeminent cyberpower, now is the time for us to say, "We're willing to restrain ourselves if you are willing to restrain yourselves."

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

FILE- In this March 1, 2013 file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the Jabhat al-Nusra flag, as they shout slogans during a demonstration, at Kafranbel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group in Syria have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to the country's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say. FILE- In this March 1, 2013 file photo, anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold the Jabhat al-Nusra flag, as they shout slogans during a demonstration, at Kafranbel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group in Syria have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to the country's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Militant groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to Syria's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say.