It's being dubbed the Fourth Industrial Revolution: the explosion of robots, machines, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is coming. There's been a lot of recent speculation about how robotics and automation will change the landscape of employment, and the professions that could become obsolete as a result. We're all familiar with those annoying "unexpected item in the bagging area" self-service supermarket checkouts, or the big robots used on the production line in factories making cars and other complex products. In the supermarket, now just one checkout assistant can manage 6 or more tills, or cars and machines can be assembled safely, with every one being turned out to the same standard. So what jobs will be next on the chopping block in this technological revolution? By and large, the main professions under threat are ones that involve repetitive tasks – that could be inputting data, preparing spreadsheets and reports and other administrative duties, retail jobs, manufacturing and even some more complex analytical roles that could be better served by an algorithm doing all the hard work.

Move over, social media and mobility: Silicon Valley has a next big thing, John Markoff writes, and it's A.I. and robots. It is useful to think of them as part of the same thing, since many robots are autonomous machines programmed for decision making based on A.I. The movement can be thought of as a spread of computing intelligence everywhere, on wheels and wings, in your pocket and all through your house. That's a big enough idea to fund scores of companies, and quite possibly set up the next Silicon Valley boom. Yet it's worth asking how much of this is reality and how much is wishful thinking.

Is Honda's walking robot Asimo marrying Pepper, the chattering robot from SoftBank? Automaker Honda Motor Co. and internet company SoftBank said Thursday they will work together on artificial intelligence to develop products with sensors and cameras that can converse with drivers. Asimo, first shown in 1996, walks, runs, dances and grips things. Pepper, which went on sale last year, doesn't have legs but is programmed to recognize mood swings in people it interacts with. Major automakers and technology companies are interested in robotics to improve driving safety and comfort.

As the sun rose over the Sonora Desert in late June, Mark Zuckerberg stood beside a runway not far from the Mexican border. Next to him stood Facebook vice president of engineering Jay Parikh and a few other colleagues, all eyes on the strip of asphalt that stretched toward the horizon. They had arrived a little before dawn, and they were the latecomers. A team of Facebook technicians began prepping the launch at midnight the day before. Among them was Martin Gomez, who sat inside a trailer at the other end of this Army airfield near Yuma, Arizona, taking the crew through its "go"-"no go" checklist.

This week, the White House and New York University's Information Law Institute hosted Artificial Intelligence Now, a symposium exploring the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across social and economic systems. We were pleased and honored to have Kate Crawford, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research and Senior Research Fellow, New York University Information Law Institute represent Microsoft as she joined to discuss social inequality, labor, healthcare, and ethics in AI technologies. The symposium focused on the near future (5-10 years) in technology, with input from leaders in technology, industry, academia, and civil society. We've gathered some of the best moments from the symposium -- in tweets -- below: "Sorry, we're not going to be talking about the singularity tonight" says Kate Crawford – focusing on today's real challenges instead #AINow Tech moves so fast and policy moves so slow – there is a mismatch. I want every drop of benefit we can squeeze out" with oversight & protections.

When Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley penned the cult classic Frankenstein, she referred to the story's ill-fated protagonist as "The Modern Prometheus," directly referencing the Greek Titan known for creating mankind. Prometheus loved humans, so much so that he stole the gift of fire from Mount Olympus and passed it on to the lowly humans who were neglected by the Gods. His generosity, however, was to undue him and curse him for the rest of his existence. Frankenstein would also share this fate after taking on the role as creator, a responsibility that ended up being too much to bear. And now, after centuries of reiterating the same theme, we too are becoming the modern Prometheus.

Google dramatically cut its energy usage for cooling its datacenters by up to 40%, with the help of its DeepMind artificial intelligence, the company announced Wednesday in a blog post. Alphabet's Google began using machine learning two years ago to save energy and money at its data centers. Over the past few months, Google added artificial intelligence from its DeepMind research and significantly improved on its results. Google was able to cut up to 40% of its energy usage from cooling its data centers and, overall, improve its power usage effectiveness (PUE) by 15%, after accounting for other non-cooling inefficiencies and electrical losses. For Google, its energy reduction results could bode well should it decide to launch something as a source of revenue.

Michael Moore: 'I Think Trump Is Going to Win.

You probably wouldn't put the Apple Watch in the same category as a PlayStation 4, but one of the world's most beloved video game publishers is going to try. Square Enix, the company behind franchises like "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest," announced Thursday that it is developing a new role-playing game for the Apple Watch. It's called "Cosmos Rings" and it's expected to release in Japan this summer. The company says it's the "world's first" RPG made fully for the Apple Watch. That's arguable: There have been other RPGs that run on the device, like "Watch Quest!" and "Runeblade," but "Cosmos Rings" could be the first that doesn't require an iPhone.

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