Alphabet's X team for moonshot projects has been using robots to sort compost, recycling, and landfill waste in initial use at X company offices in recent months. The robots on wheels can drive to trash sites in the Mountain View, California office and sort recycling and trash using a combination of computer vision and a robotic arms. The news today came as Alphabet unveiled the Everyday Robot Project, a moonshot to make robots augment human activity in the physical world in environments like the home or office the same way computers do in the virtual world. The Everyday Robot Project has been underway for years, as many members of the team that collaborates with Google AI joined Alphabet in 2015 or 2016. "During the last few months, our robots have sorted thousands of pieces of trash and reduced our office's waste contamination levels from 20% -- which is what it is when people put objects in the trays -- to less than 5%," Alphabet X robotics project lead Hans Peter Brondmo said in a post today.

In the modern age of digitalization, the world is always more than eager to welcome new technologies that offer people unprecedented advantages that make modern life a tad bit easier. Over the course of recent years, however, as more and more enterprises ride the wave of digitalization and continue to integrate technologies such as cloud computing into their digital infrastructure- the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has risen in the cybersecurity world as a staple in providing security to enterprises in an increasingly complex threat landscape. However, unfortunate as it may be, the AI technology has often been exploited against enterprises, with statistics depicting a bleak picture, with more and more cyber-criminals turning to AI for launching increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. One such dark side of AI definitely reveals itself in "deepfakes." If you've been following the slightest bit of cybersecurity news, chances are you're familiar with the term "deepfakes."

Robot-maker ZMP Inc. is aiming to launch the first commercial level 3 automated bus operation in Japan at an airport in 2020. The Tokyo-based startup, which bills itself as the "robot of everything," has built a variety of contraptions ranging from delivery robots to autonomous forklifts. It plans to start marketing Japan's first fully autonomous single-seat electric vehicle, the Robocar Walk, in May, founder and CEO Hisashi Taniguchi said. Taniguchi expanded on his plans during a recent interview. Is it true ZMP is targeting a level 4 automated driving business by the Olympics? Yes, we are aiming for commercial operation of an unmanned level 4 autonomous vehicle.

The driver, who got the bus humming with the push of a button, stayed behind the wheel but was hands-off most of the time, keeping intervention to a minimum. The bus, sporting an array of sensors and cameras, was limited to a maximum speed of around 30 kph. The bus completed the circuit from Gunma University to Shibukawa Station in about an hour, twice a day for nine days, as part of a pilot program set up by the school, a local bus line, the Gunma Prefectural Government and NEC. The aim: to achieve the government's goal of getting driverless vehicles up and running on Japan's roads by the end of the year. The move underlines the fact that self-driving vehicles are no longer a vision for the distant future, but just around the corner.

AI is set to replace many human jobs in the future, but should lawyers and judges be among them? Here we explore where AI is already being used in judicial systems around the world and discuss if it should play a more senior role. Could, or should, AI ever be developed that could pass judgment on a living, breathing human being? RELATED: CHINA HAS UNVEILED AN AI JUDGE THAT WILL'HELP' WITH COURT PROCEEDINGS Believe it or not, AI and some forms of advanced-algorithms are already widely used in many judicial systems around the world. In the various states within the United States, for example, predictive algorithms are already being used to help reduce the load on the judicial system.

What can (and can't) be done with it? How to start creating AI methods? Join the Elements of AI course, online and free, created by Reaktor, an AI and tech partner for modern businesses and the University of Helsinki, the oldest institution of academic education in Finland. The course combines theory with practical exercises and can be completed at your own pace. At the end of the course you will also receive a certificate of participation.

Artificial intelligence and automation are continuing to drill deeper into our society. Yet, there seems to be a disconnect between the people designing and implementing these systems, and those who will be most affected by the outcome. The reported median annual salary for an AI programmer in the UK in 2019 is currently around £60,000. Meanwhile, the reported median annual salary for all workers in the UK is reportedly around £36,611. Automating routine operations presents a lot of benefits.

The American drone attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week is the latest move in a low-level war between Iran and the U.S. that has been waged with varying degrees of intensity for over 40 years – and is likely to continue long into the future. Some people fear that recent events will escalate the long conflict into a costly all-out war between the two countries. Others may welcome what they see as the necessary and inevitable showdown leading ultimately to regime change in Tehran. The killing of Soleimani – the most prominent military figure in Iran and close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – can be seen as an escalation and will almost certainly provoke Iranian retaliation. President Trump's boast of ordering the killing of Soleimani may further increase pressure on Iran to respond.

Fox News Flash top headlines for Jan. 5 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com TEHRAN, Iran -- The body of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani arrived Sunday in Iran to throngs of mourners after the U.S. drone strike killed the commander, as President Donald Trump threatened to bomb 52 sites in the Islamic Republic if Tehran retaliates by attacking Americans. Soleimani's death Friday in Iraq further heightens tensions between Tehran and Washington after months of trading attacks and threats that put the wider Middle East on edge. The conflict takes root in Trump pulling out of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, an accord likely to further unravel as Tehran is expected to announce as early as Sunday it will break another set of limits.

After working in the home, as an assistant at various stores, and as a waiter, SoftBank's humanoid robot Pepper is adding Buddhist priest to the list of careers the robot can take on. Pepper can chant sutras in a computerized voice while hitting a drum, reports Reuters, as detailed at the creepily-named Life Ending Industry Expo in Tokyo. The company Nissei Eco wrote the software for the Buddhist chants and said because of Japan's shrinking and aging population, Buddhists priests weren't getting as much monetary support from the community and have to work other jobs away from temple to make ends meet. Pepper's abilities were developed so it could hold funerals when there weren't any Buddhist priests readily available. That, and using a robot is much cheaper -- about $350 compared to $2,200 for a human priest, if you don't value genuine human sentiments for the loss of your loved ones.