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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.

Lawmakers are ignoring simple economics in favor of lunatic policies. If it continues, a voter revolution is guaranteed. The government shutdown continues as the debate over a border wall enters its fourth contentious week. Neither side in this has shown any sign of willingness to compromise. This remains a stalemate as of now, the very definition of it, or at least that's what it seems like from the outside.

Introduction In the era of data science, artificial intelligence is making impossible feats possible. Driverless cars, IBM Watson's question-answering system, cancer detection, electronic trading, etc. are all made possible through the advanced decision making ability of artificial intelligence. The deep layers of neural networks have a magical ability to recreate the human mind and its functionalities. When humans make decisions, they have the ability to explain their thought process behind it. They can explain the rationale; whether its driven by observation, intuition, experience or logical thinking ability.

Former FCC commissioner and chair, Mignon Clyburn, has been tapped to join tech execs, academics, national security officials and others on a new National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, according to the congress member who chose her, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). Clyburn joins representatives from Amazon, Google, Oracle and Microsoft on the committee, which was created by the National Defense Authorization Act and charged with reviewing the impact on national security on advances in AI, artificial learning and related fields. The commission has to produce a report to the White House by August. According to Inside Defense, the commission will also feature one sitting senator, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), appointed by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). In addition to her time on the FCC, Clyburn has been a state utility regulator and a journalist.

While more Americans were in favor of AI than opposed, opinions were mixed and varied from one group to another. The survey The report describes itself as follows: "This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey conducted by the Center for the Governance of AI, housed at the Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, using the survey firm YouGov. The survey was conducted between June 6 and 14, 2018, with a total of 2,000 American adults (18) completing the survey. " The authors claim they were more interested in breadth than depth in the study. Questions touch on numerous issues such as workplace automation, international cooperation, public trust in various actors to develop and regulate AI and many others.

Defense Specialist Allison Barrie takes a closer look at some of the most exciting advances in defense tech to keep a close eye on in 2019. These advances break down into 5 key battle spaces: sea, air, land, space and cyber. From F-35B fighter jets to the future of the U.S. Space Force, Fox Firepower covers them all. The U.S. military has been modernizing the armed forces in preparation for a potentially new era of warfare around the corner. So as we kick off this new year, which defense stories should Americans be keeping an eye on?

These days, it seems artificial intelligence (AI) is finding its way into everything. Not too long ago, the idea that machines could think for themselves was considered science fiction. Since the dawn of modern computers, we could always explicitly program certain tasks to be carried out, but we couldn't teach machines to mimic the cognitive functions of human beings and learn for themselves -- until now. But as AI is increasingly incorporated into computer systems globally, it is also becoming the battle line between the bad actors and the good-faith efforts that the rest of the world makes to use the technology for the betterment of humanity. Bad actors are working to use AI to hold computer data and networks hostage.

In a recent piece for The Hill, Gonzalo Schwarz, a fellow at Archbridge Institute, argued that UBI is a solution in search of a problem, citing recent economic stats. Unemployment is low, the stock market is high, and income inequality, Schwarz argues, isn't that big of a deal. However, right now, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, in the eighth year of an economic expansion, 44 percent of Americans can't afford an unexpected $400 bill. Schwarz even recognizes some of the other big problems facing our country that a universal basic income would solve. He mentions our labor force participation rate -- 63.1 percent -- and the excessive use of disability programs.

Applicants usually don't know when a startup has used artificial intelligence to triage their resume. When Big Tech deploys AI to tweak a social feed and maximize scrolling time, users often can't tell, either. The same goes when the government relies on AI to dole out benefits -- citizens have little say in the matter. What's happening: As companies and the government take up AI at a delirious pace, it's increasingly difficult to know what they're automating -- or hold them accountable when they make mistakes. If something goes wrong, those harmed have had no chance to vet their own fate.