It's widely presumed that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a dominant role in future wars. However, the way the future unfolds might be nothing like that. AI developments increasingly led by machine learning-enabled technologies, seem to be going in another direction. AI is a fairly plastic term. Its meaning has shifted over time, reflecting changes in both our understanding of what intelligence is and in the technology available to mimic this.

Most organisations are putting their faith in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve threat intelligence, prediction, and protection. It is also providing cover for the continuing cybersecurity skills gap. Despite AI's potential for good, future AI-driven attacks are likely. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted why cyber-naïve remote-workers need security awareness training to thwart hacker attacks. Attackers will target immature technologies, meaning 5G communications, smart cities, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are all at risk.

Now that science fiction is reality, it's time for new laws of robotics Eighty years ago, Isaac Asimov dreamed up three rules to ensure machines would serve humanity. It's a framework that has shaped decades of debates about AI ethics, but it needs an update. Here are four laws of robotics for the real world.

AI, or artificial intelligence, seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue these days. While I've been aware of this major trend in tech development for a while, I've noticed AI appearing more and more as one of the most in-demand areas of expertise for job seekers. I'm sure that for many of us, the term "AI" conjures up sci-fi fantasies or fear about robots taking over the world. The depictions of AI in the media have run the gamut, and while no one can predict exactly how it will evolve in the future, the current trends and developments paint a much different picture of how AI will become part of our lives. In reality, AI is already at work all around us, impacting everything from our search results, to our online dating prospects, to the way we shop.

On this fifth episode from the Blueprints for American Renewal and Prosperity project, two Brookings experts discuss their blueprints for strengthening governance to meet key international challenges in the technology arena. Senior Fellow Landry Signé is co-author with Stephan Almond of "A blueprint for technology governance in the post-pandemic world," and Senior Fellow Joshua Meltzer is co-author with Cameron Kerry of "Strengthening international cooperation on artificial intelligence." Also on this episode, Senior Fellow David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, looks at the politics and the economics around raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Listen to this segment on Soundcloud. See below for excerpts from the transcript.

Suggesting that budget cuts have rendered mere human police incapable of doing their jobs without cybernetic help, project lead Iain Donnelly claims working with an AI system will allow the force to do more with less. He insists that the National Data Analytics Solution, as it's called, will target only those individuals already known to have criminal tendencies, sniffing out likely offenders to divert them with therapeutic "interventions," including individuals who are stopped and searched but never arrested or charged. Donnelly claims the program is not designed to "pre-emptively arrest" anyone, but to provide "support from local health or social workers," giving the example of an individual with a history of mental health problems being flagged as a likely violent offender, then contacted by social services. Given that a violent mental case would almost certainly react negatively to being contacted out of nowhere by a mysterious social worker – and that a history of mental health problems is not in itself criminal – Donnelly was wise to end his example there. "Interventions" will be offered only to potential offenders, but the NDAS claims to be able to pick their victims as well.

Torch.AI, a startup developing "network-centric" AI to deliver big data insights, announced that it raised $30 million. The company plans to put the proceeds toward growth as it acquires new customers, particularly U.S. federal agencies in the national security realm, including those operating in high-risk environments. Most enterprises have to wrangle countless data buckets, some of which inevitably become underused or forgotten. A Forrester survey found that between 60% and 73% of all data within corporations is never analyzed for insights or larger trends. The opportunity cost of this unused data is substantial, with a Veritas report pegging it at $3.3 trillion by 2020. That's perhaps why the corporate sector has taken an interest in solutions that ingest, understand, organize, and act on digital content from multiple digital sources.

In our current reality where 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is generated each day, an expert who can put together this humongous data to give business solutions is undoubtedly the hero! Much has been spoken about why a career in data science is great and the demand for data scientist skills. Since the time data-fueled digital disruption has taken place, data science job opportunities are always in demand. In a business setting, data science graduate jobs incorporate foreseeing potential trends, exploring different and unrelated data sources, and finding better approaches to analyze data. They exhume through a lot of structured and unstructured data to discover patterns that can help find new market opportunities, lift efficiencies and that's just the beginning.

Travelling to Mars could affect the mind of the astronauts making the long journey - leaving them more likely to misidentify facial expressions, study warns. Current NASA plans could see the first humans step foot on the surface of the Red Planet by the end of the next decade as part of the Artemis mission. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that weightlessness leaves people more likely to see facial expressions as angry - rather than happy or neutral. The phenomenon could endanger missions to the Red Planet, warn scientists, as the astronauts will be weightless on a spaceship together for up to eight months. Studies have shown microgravity causes structural changes in the brain, but it's not fully understood how this translates to changes in behaviour.

Deloitte's government and public services practice announced the new Deloitte Artificial Intelligence Institute for Government (DAIIG) today. Institute leaders outlined a set of commitments and actions to advance applied AI in the public sector by building a cross-sector community for research and shared expertise, and mentoring and growing the talent of the future. "As evidenced in the recent National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence report, advancing the use of artificial intelligence is a national imperative. While decisions and actions to accelerate AI innovation need to happen today, implementing AI brings ethical and technical challenges that are as complex as any we have faced in recent history," said Ed Van Buren, principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and executive director of DAIIG. "Deloitte's AI Institute for Government is focused on efforts to actively help the public sector harness and shape this movement towards blending human and machine capabilities in a way that improves citizen services, promotes economic growth and recovery, and expands human opportunity" The institute is a hub for innovative perspectives, collaboration and research focused on all-things AI and related technologies for government.