Samuel Greengard is an author and journalist based in West Linn, OR, USA.

In June, Amazon announced it was close to being able to offer for package deliveries by drone for its Prime Air service. That same month, Uber said it plans to test food delivery by aerial drone in crowded cities. And drone delivery company Flytrex already touts the ability to deliver drinks via unmanned vehicle on the golf course. Despite such announcements, drones are not crowding the skies over major cities and population centers just yet. But that may be about to change.

The year is 1989 and we're introduced to the World Wide Web. The Berlin Wall is coming down. The Exxon Valdez is spilling oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Students are calling for democracy and free speech in Tiananmen Square. Crockett and Tubbs are clearing the mean streets of Miami.

According to a report by multinational professional services provider KPMG, defense agencies have strong motivations to adopt a group of technologies, known collectively as intelligent automation. More accurately described, artificial intelligence (AI) in the military sector is more appropriately called intelligent automation. We will not create yet another acronym for this here (you're welcome). Given increasing volumes of data that requires fast, safe, and accurate analysis, Ian McDonald, Director of Technology Enablement in Defense and National Security, KPMG in Australia says, "Intelligent automation is absolutely essential for the military, They cannot operate the capabilities they currently have to their full potential without it." "Ballistic missile defense is a vital part of many countries' military activity. As many as a dozen satellite and sensor systems may be used in detecting hostile missile launches, with a further dozen systems involved in destroying such missiles. A defense agency could have just 8-10 minutes to decide whether a launch represents a threat, share findings with allies and decide what to do. The use of countermeasures has to happen quickly, given that missiles could impact 16 minutes after launch."

It's hard to attend any conference, webinar, or technology briefing these days without hearing ambitious, even bullish, predictions about the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) across a full spectrum of technologies, including digital process automation, content management, and robotic process automation. Almost everyone agrees that AI/ML will alter the state of the digital process automation market, whether the focus is on customer experience, business operations, e-commerce, or consumers. It's still early days for mapping out how AI/ML will be used with digital process automation. For example, one executive observed, "there's still a lot of [buyer and vendor] confusion about what is the role of AI, and what is the role of AI in digital process automation." AI/ML is already being used for specific business processes in business and government agencies – and has been for some time.

Who benefits from the research breakthroughs made in the China-based research labs of American artificial intelligence (AI) companies? Just five years ago, that question hardly ever came up, and if it was asked, the answer often centered on the shared benefits of global research. The field of machine learning has made major strides, China's technology markets and its surveillance apparatus have boomed, and technological competition has moved to the center of the US-China relationship. What do all these changes mean for the overseas research labs of leading American technology companies? To answer that question, it's useful to zoom in on a specific research breakthrough to examine the ideas, institutions, and people involved in it. By tracing those factors over time, a better assessment can be made on where the benefits from this research flow to, and how government policies and corporate practices can best shape those flows.

Even as the United Nations continues a long-running debate on how to regulate lethal autonomous weapons, a top US Army official is doubling down on his vision for incredibly autonomous systems that can categorize threats, select targets, and fire artillery without any human involvement. After that sort of system has been developed, the Army's acquisitions chief Bruce Jette said, an interface can be added for any "safety concerns." Jette, a former tank operator with a doctorate from MIT, made the comments at an event at the recently-concluded 2019 Association for the United States Army conference. There, Jette talked about building a tank turret hooked to an artificial intelligence system that, he said, could distinguish between a Volkswagen and an infantry fighting vehicle and then "shoot it." Defense News reported on Jette's call for fully autonomous weapons.

From self-driving cars to Amazon's Alexa, artificial intelligence is already here. But some fear AI could be used to create killer robots. Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is helping to lead a campaign for a new international treaty to prohibit lethal autonomous weapons, which select targets to fire without consultation from a human being. Williams said at a news conference on Monday that killer robots "are crossing a moral and ethical Rubicon and should not be allowed to exist and be used in combat or in any other way". While more and more governments are heavily investing in AI for military purposes -- the Pentagon alone has pledged up to two billion dollars on AI research -- Ben Goertzel, the AI pioneer behind Sophia the Robot, told Euronews that he hopes humankind turns away from using AI, especially within the military. "I have no illusion I'm going to stop the militaries of the world from developing autonomous weapons systems," he said.

Jamshedpur: At the plenary session of CII EXCON 2019 on'Nextgen Infrastructure' held in Jamshedpur, the emphasis on technology as a key driver of growth of sustainable infrastructure development was highlighted. Recent developments in the areas of Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will go a long way in boosting the infrastructure sector besides ensuring longevity and effectiveness. The session was attended by senior officials from the Government, industry leaders and stakeholders from the infrastructure and construction equipment sectors. CII EXCON 2019 – South Asia's largest construction equipment trade fair will demonstrate the role of smart technologies and nextgen construction equipment in accelerating the growth of infrastructure in the country. EXCON 2019, scheduled to be held at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru from December 10-14, 2019 is spread over 3,00,000 square metres and will have the participation of over 1250 exhibitors including 350 overseas companies from 25 countries including China, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, UK & USA among others.

Artificial intelligence has replaced many skills in recent years – including the skills needed to do some human jobs. The tech revolution has not gone unnoticed by American workers. A 2018 Gallup poll revealed that 70% of Americans believe AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has sounded the alarm, raising the prospect that millions are at risk for long-term joblessness. I'm an expert on labor markets in the U.S., and I believe that AI will undoubtedly change the future of U.S. labor – but Yang is also exaggerating the impact AI will have on the workforce.