The Transportation Department is funding research to build artificial intelligence-powered drones and trying to get a better understanding of how autonomous vehicles could be manipulated to harm the public. The agency's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center on Thursday began soliciting teams to develop open-source artificial intelligence tools that allow drones to fly without a human operator. The team would ultimately build a drone capable of locating targets and dodging obstacles without outside intervention. Selected vendors would also need to provide secure facilities where government engineers can store and test autonomous drones and cars. The 12-month contract is only open to companies and universities located within 25 miles of Arlington, Va., according to the solicitation.

Modern Technology Solutions Inc. has opened a laboratory in Huntsville, Ala., for research and development of artificial intelligence-based technology platforms for the military sector. MTSI said Friday it looks to accomplish a holistic approach to AI application through the new lab along with the company's engineering and data analytics processes. Willie Maddox, manager of AI Lab, said the company aims to apply deep reinforcement learning to address challenges related to multiagent dynamic route planning. Alexandria, Va.-based MTSI offers engineering and technology services to government customers in the missile defense, cybersecurity, intelligence, unmanned and autonomous systems, aviation, space and homeland security areas.

Technological development has become a rat race. In the competition to lead the emerging technology race and the futuristic warfare battleground, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming the center of global power play. As seen across many nations, the development in autonomous weapons system (AWS) is progressing rapidly, and this increase in the weaponization of artificial intelligence seems to have become a highly destabilizing development. It brings complex security challenges for not only each nation's decision makers but also for the future of the humanity. The reality today is that artificial intelligence is leading us toward a new algorithmic warfare battlefield that has no boundaries or borders, may or may not have humans involved, and will be impossible to understand and perhaps control across the human ecosystem in cyberspace, geospace and space (CGS).

By the end of 2019, it is estimated that there will be more than 5 billion mobile phone users in the world -- more people than have access to a flushing toilet. That figure emphasizes the extent to which technology affects humanity and gives us an idea of how many people are interacting with algorithms that fall under the umbrella of artificial intelligence. While this technology can be valuable and beneficial, increasing and high-profile instances of misuse have seriously undermined public trust. Even permitted usage, such as the application of AI and algorithmic decision-making to real-world outcomes such as insurance, immigration and medicine, can lead to highly problematic outcomes. In 2018, Amazon's recruitment algorithm -- built to ensure that Amazon was finding the people most likely to do well at the company -- made headlines for deselecting women's CVs.

GIFU - At its city hall on Tuesday, a local government in central Japan demonstrated an experiment showing robots that can independently guide people to the right information window or teach them how to fill out government forms. Ogaki city in Gifu Prefecture is the first local government in Japan that is attempting to use robots that will autonomously guide people, according to the city, which is looking to integrate them into its services in 2020. "I would like to use robots to increase our services to our residents, and make our municipal office a gathering place where we can have fun," said Ogaki Mayor Bin Ogawa. At the event, an autonomous robot shaped like a tube guided the mayor from the information counter to the elevator. Ogawa wants the project to be implemented in 2020 when a new government office is set to open.

AI solutions already go a long way in improving efficiency and customer service, two areas where local governments could certainly use a helping hand. AI used for intergovernmental processes means handling rote tasks, freeing up employees to better flex their creative muscles to proactively solve problems. It stands to reason that an organization as process-driven and often staid as administrative government offices could take some massive leaps forward in both productivity and creativity with the help of AI.

EVERY day, algorithms make decisions that affect your life, whether it is social media firms determining the news you read or mapping apps choosing the route you will take. We are vaguely aware of this, but few people give it much thought. It is time that changed. As machine learning advances, we are conceding more control to the algorithms, with potentially dire consequences. This is a particular problem in the public sector, where cash-strapped authorities are turning to algorithms they don't fully understand in an effort to cut costs.

Once it was fashionable to fret about the prospect of super-intelligent machines taking over the world. The past year showed that AI may cause all sorts of hazards long before that happens. The latest AI methods excel at perceptual tasks such as classifying images and transcribing speech, but the hype and excitement over these skills have disguised how far we really are from building machines as clever as we are. Six controversies from 2018 stand out as warnings that even the smartest AI algorithms can misbehave, or that carelessly applying them can have dire consequences. After a fatal accident involving one of Uber's self-driving cars in March, investigators found that the company's technology had failed catastrophically, in a way that could easily have been prevented.

The workforce in 2040 is projected to be 20 percent smaller than in 2017 due to overall population decline if the economy sees no growth and women and the elderly continue to have difficulty landing jobs, according to government study released Tuesday. A study group of the labor ministry, releasing the first official projection for the size of Japan's workforce in 2040, called for additional policies to boost employment and promotion of artificial intelligence as measures to sustain productivity. The study did not take into consideration the expansion of the foreign workforce in 14 fields, including construction and nursing care, from April this year. The panel on employment policies set up by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry estimated that the number of workers in Japan will stand at 60.82 million in 2025 and 52.45 million in 2040, down from 65.3 million in 2017. The number of male workers in 2040 will fall by 7.11 million from 2017, while that of females will decrease by 5.75 million.

A judge in California ruled Thursday that U.S. authorities cannot force people to unlock technology with fingerprint or facial recognition, even with a search warrant. A judge in California ruled Thursday that U.S. authorities cannot force people to unlock technology via fingerprint or facial recognition, even with a search warrant. Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, made the ruling as investigators tried to access someone's property in Oakland. Two people allegedly used Facebook messenger to threaten a victim with the release of an "embarrassing video" if they didn't hand over money. Authorities investigating the case requested a search and seizure warrant "to seize various items" believed to be at a home connected to the suspects.