Justine Cassell has taken her virtual assistant Sara on a road trip. They're in Tianjin, China, where Carnegie Mellon University's associate dean of technology strategy and impact traveled to offer a glimpse of tomorrow at this week's Annual Meeting of New Champions. Sara, for "socially aware robot assistant," has spent the past several days greeting hundreds of people coming to the event, hosted by the World Economic Forum, at a station showcasing the office of the future. A life-size face and torso on a big-screen TV, Sara served as the front end to the event app. That presentation might make you think of Max Headroom, the stuttering AI character from the 1980s show.

Artificial Intelligence Stephen Hawking – one of the world's most brilliant thinkers, and a man who rarely gives interviews – joins Larry to discuss the greatest issues facing the planet, where artificial intelligence is headed (and what he makes of Kurzweil's singularity theory), and what still mystifies him about the universe. Larry King recently interviewed physicist Stephen Hawking for RT. The video below also features astrophysicist Garik Israelian on creating the Starmus Festival, which celebrates the intersection of science and art and is this year dedicated to Hawking. Related articles Ray Kurzweil on How We Will Become God-Like Synaptic Transistors Point To Computer Hardware That Learns Stephen Hawking Thinks Mind Uploading Possible In the interview, when asked about the dangers of artificial intelligence, Hawking explained that increases in technology may be coming at a steep cost, saying: "Governments seem to be engaged in an AI arms race, designing planes and weapons with intelligent technologies. The funding for projects directly beneficial to the human race, such as improved medical screening seems a somewhat lower priority."

Last month, the White House announced a series of actions as part of a new White House Future of Artificial Intelligence initiative, designed to learn more about the benefits and risks of AI. Since making that announcement, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has co-hosted two public workshops on opposite ends of the country--the first in Seattle at the University of Washington, focused on the legal and governance implications of AI, and the second here recently in Washington, DC, where we heard about AI for public good. This month and next, we will be in Pittsburgh on June 28 to discuss safety and control for AI, and New York City on July 7 to explore AI's social and economic implications. You can join these events in person (subject to venue constraints) by registering via the event websites, or you can follow the discussion via livestream and social media, where we will be using the hashtag #FutureofAI. Today, we are announcing another action to build on these efforts and expand the opportunity for public participation in this conversation.

ARLINGTON, Va.--With support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created an artificial intelligence software program named Quixote to teach robots to read stories, learn acceptable behavior and understand successful ways to conduct themselves in diverse social situations. "For years, researchers have debated how to teach robots to act in ways that are appropriate, non-intrusive and trustworthy," said Marc Steinberg, an ONR program manager who oversees the research. "One important question is how to explain complex concepts such as policies, values or ethics to robots. Humans are really good at using narrative stories to make sense of the world and communicate to other people. This could one day be an effective way to interact with robots."

NEW YORK--The first-year anniversary of the Windows 10 launch is still about a month away. But Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi announced today in a blog post that the next major iteration of the company's operating system--dubbed the Windows 10 Anniversary Update--will become available on August 2. Microsoft is encouraging folks to request it in advance. Indeed, ahead of July 29, the one-year anniversary launch date, anyone running Windows 10 on a PC today can request the upgrade for free, after which it will cost is 119. Either way, you'll still have to wait until August 2 to get it. Mehdi says that more than 350 million devices are currently running Windows 10 worldwide, with customer satisfaction levels higher than any previous version of Windows.

Edgar Sarmiento won the Local Motors challenge to design an urban public transportation system. His self-driving electric minibus design eventually become this vehicle called Olli. Edgar Sarmiento won the Local Motors challenge to design an urban public transportation system. His self-driving electric minibus design eventually become this vehicle called Olli. At the recent unveiling of a new self-driving shuttle bus called Olli, its designer sat perched on a stool nearby, his hands cradling a photo camera in his lap.

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

Justine Cassell has taken her virtual assistant Sara on a road trip. They're in Tianjin, China, where Carnegie Mellon's associate dean of technology strategy and impact traveled to offer a glimpse of tomorrow at the Annual Meeting of New Champions. Sara, for "socially aware robot assistant," has spent the past several days greeting hundreds of people coming to the event, hosted by the World Economic Forum, at a station showcasing the office of the future. A life-size face and torso on a big-screen TV, Sara served as the front end to the event app. That presentation might make you think of Max Headroom, the stuttering AI character from the 1980s show.

To some people, electricity is like air: There for the taking. For others, circumventing paying a utility bill is a just cause, sticking it to "Big Energy" for their perceived transgressions against customers. In either case, not paying for energy is considered fraud and a crime. In some states, energy fraud is a felony worthy of hard time and steep penalties. The numbers tell the story.

Driverless cars are our future, with nearly every automaker racing to create their own version of autonomous vehicles. But autonomous systems still have a long way to go--and the cues and signals that human drivers know instinctively are not second-nature for our machines. Why Dick's Sporting Goods decided to play its own game in e commerce Dick's Sporting Goods has long partnered with eBay Enterprise on its e -commerce platform. Learn the benefits and risks of this multi -million dollar IT bet. To find solutions for how vehicles with autonomous features can drive safely on the road, professor John Dolan, a principal systems scientist in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, studies how humans communicate and coordinate with these machines, helping them understand how to complete complex tasks on the road.