A British-built spacecraft is about to blast off to Mercury. The BepiColombo ship will fly five billion miles to the planet that is closest to our sun. The scientists behind it hope that it can help solve some of the mysteries that hang over the distant world. It might, for instance, contain water ice, hidden in shadows on its otherwise blazing hot surface, scientists speculate – a discovery that could help shed light on the possibility of alien life in our own solar system. It will also look to explain why the planet has such as huge iron core at its centre, and unlock the history of the vast volcanic vents that shook its surface for billions of years.

In a world increasingly fragmented by U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, Japan should take on the role as the world's new "stabilizer" by committing to the landmark Paris accord on climate change and keeping a multilateral trade regime from falling apart in the absence of the United States, according to experts who gathered at a Tokyo conference earlier this week. The annual G1 Global Conference, held at Globis University in Tokyo, examined Japan's shifting roles on the global stage on the heels of an intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China that its panelists said has thrown the international order into disarray. The conference held Sunday invited experts on fields including security, energy and technology -- as well as social entrepreneurs and business executives -- to discuss a "fractured world" caused by the rise of protectionism, the shift in Asian geopolitics and potential threats stemming from the advent of artificial intelligence. With the election of Trump in 2016, "many tensions in the U.S. that had existed beforehand became much more evident," former U.S. Democratic member of congress Jane Harman told the all-English conference, titled "Connecting a Fractured World." The Japan Times was a media partner for the event.

Sales of industrial robots in China, the world's biggest market, will grow this year at only about a third the pace seen last year as an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war hits spending on equipment, a global robot group said on Thursday. In its annual report, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) forecast Chinese demand for robots will grow 15-20 percent this year after surging 59 percent to 137,920 units last year. With China accounting for 36 percent of the global robot market and with its sales volume exceeding the total of Europe and the Americas combined, slowing demand growth in the Asian nation is also impacting global demand. IFR, which brings together nearly 60 global robot suppliers and integrators, predicts worldwide industrial robot sales this year will grow 10 percent compared to last year's 30 percent. Because of the trade war, many global manufacturers "are now in a wait-and-see mode, wondering whether to shift production (away from China) to, let's say, Vietnam or the United States," IFR President Junji Tsuda said in an interview.

Ahead of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 (PP-18) – the top policy-making body of the International Telecommunication Union, taking place from 29 October to 16 November in Dubai – ITU News is highlighting some important and emerging areas of ITU's work. The following is an ITU Plenipotentiary Backgrounder, the original can be found on the PP-18 website here. Software has become significantly smarter in recent years. The current expansion of AI is the result of advances in a field known as machine learning. Machine learning involves using algorithms that allow computers to learn on their own by looking through data and performing tasks based on examples, rather than by relying on explicit programming by a human.[1] A machine-learning technique called deep learning, inspired by biological neural networks, finds and remembers patterns in large volumes of data.

Have the Chinese been able to weaponize A.I. yet? Everyone is weaponizing A.I. Some countries are building autonomous weapons systems based on A.I., while others are focused on disinformation or propaganda or bots. It takes different forms in different countries. In Israel, for instance, we have one of the largest laboratories for A.I. surveillances in the world -- it's called the Occupied Territories. In fact, one of the reasons Israel is such a leader in A.I. surveillance is because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Part of why the occupation is so successful is because of A.I. surveillance technology and big data algorithms.

Proposals would ensures that'our government understands the benefits and pitfalls of this technology as it engages in a responsible, accountable rollout of AI' A proposed US'AI in Government Act 2018' would seek to both foster bigger official support for Artificial Intelligence at the Federal level, while also highlighting areas of potential future concern. Under the Act – a bi-partisan initiative – some of Uncle Sam's executive agencies would be tasked to specifically research and consider AI applications and strategy, as well as create an advisory board to address AI policy and issues, including: Expanding the General Services Administration office to provide "technical expertise to relevant government agencies," research Federal AI policy, and "promote [American] competitiveness through agency and industry cooperation" to ensure the United Sates would have global competitive advantage in AI, supported by giving the government the resources it needs to "hire experts, do research, and work across federal agencies to use AI technologies in smart and effective ways" Establish strategies for using AI in "Federal data strategy" Identify skills and competencies for AI and establish or update what civil servants would need to know on the topic, skills-wise. The Bill's sponsors cited both the promises and risks of AI as significant motivations for their proposed legislation, noting that, "[AI] will have significant impacts for our country, economy, and society [so] ensuring that our government has the capabilities and expertise to help navigate those impacts will be important in the coming years and decades. "[This] legislation [ensures that] our government understands the benefits and pitfalls of this technology as it engages in a responsible, accountable rollout of AI." The work is the American equivalent of a Private Member's Bill, so may not progress that much – but does, in the words of The National Law Review, recognise "AI's simultaneous promises and challenges for future policymakers" and could represent "a notable step towards government adoption of AI" in America.

It will take a while for the direction of the trade war to be clear, Tsuda said. "But global demand for smartphones, semiconductors and autos have been solid, and the time will eventually come that they can wait no longer and will resume investment to meet the demand."

Despite the fraught global environment -- with U.S.-China animosity mounting alongside a bevy of regional security concerns -- Japan appears to be viewing the situation as a glass half-full scenario, according to leading experts, as well as current and former officials. That was the scene Wednesday, when pundits and diplomats from Japan and across the globe gathered for the Eurasia Group's inaugural G-Zero Summit in Tokyo. With China and the Trump administration posing potential headaches for Tokyo, many said the country's unique position and stable domestic politics could be an opportunity for it to break out of its diplomatic shell and play a larger leadership role in regional and global politics. "After World War II, the U.S. has shouldered much of the responsibility" in establishing and maintaining the international rules-based order, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said in the conference's keynote speech. Yet Kono believes Washington can't continue to go it alone and "has been getting a little tired … so someone else has to take up the responsibility."

BENGALURU, INDIA – Facebook has tentatively concluded that spammers looking to make money, and not a nation-state, were behind the largest-ever data theft at the social media company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The people behind the attack were a group of Facebook and Instagram spammers who present themselves as a digital marketing company and whose activities were previously known to Facebook's security team, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the company's internal investigation. Last week, Facebook said cyberattackers had stolen data from 29 million Facebook accounts using an automated program that moved from one friend to the next, adding that the data theft had hit fewer than the 50 million profiles it initially reported. Facebook said in an email that it was cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on this matter. The breach has left users more vulnerable to targeted phishing attacks and could deepen unease about posting to a service whose privacy, moderation and security practices have been called into question by a number of scandals, cybersecurity experts and financial analysts have said.

New research has revealed the areas where real-life'waterworld' riots are most likely to happen. Researchers mapped the areas where future global conflict is most likely to break out as a result of climate change-fueled water shortages. Researchers believe vulnerable areas could face'hydro-political issues' due to water shortages within the next 50 to 100 years. Researchers used machine learning to identify'pre-conditions and factors' that might lead to depleting water resources, particularly areas that contain water shared by bordering nations Researchers said the areas most likely to be hit by'hydro-political' issues are those with already stressed water basins. This includes the Nile, Ganges-Brahmaputra, Indus, Tigris-Euphrates and Colorado rivers. They believe water-related conflict or cooperation is likely to develop in the next 50 to 100 years as a result of climate change and population growth.