Following the unveiling of China's AI roadmap, some of the region's most tech-savvy nations followed suit. South Korea, a country boasting nearly 100% internet penetration and the first country to implement a nationwide Internet of Things (IOT) network has pledged to invest ₩2.2 trillion (US$2 billion) on AI-related R&D by 2022. Singapore, which in the past has boasted the highest smartphone adoption rates in the world, and which is already considered a regional AI leader, recently announced the formation of a high-level council that will advise the government on legal and ethical issues related to the continued adoption of AI. The council's formation is indicative of the Singaporean government's recognition that one of the key challenges facing the large-scale implementation of AI is reconciling its many benefits with its potential implications for societal norms and expectations. We should expect similar initiatives across the region.

A robot with true artificial intelligence is about to invade space. The large, round, plastic robot head is part of SpaceX's latest supply delivery to the International Space Station. Friday's pre-dawn liftoff also includes two sets of genetically identical female mice, 20 mousestronauts that will pick up where NASA's identical twin brother astronauts left off a few years ago. Super-caffeinated coffee is also flying up for the space station's java-craving crew. As intriguing as identical space siblings and turbo-charged space coffee may be, it's the German robot -- named Cimon, pronounced Simon, after a genius doctor in science fiction's "Captain Future" -- that's stealing the show. Don't worry about AI running amok on the space station.

Following a number of years during which robotic process automation (RPA) was something only a relatively small number of companies had yet dabbled in, notable progress is now evident, a new report suggests. In a survey of 500 senior finance executives in North America and Europe by technology and outsourcing consulting firm Capgemini, 41% said their organization has an enterprise-wide automation strategy in place. Finance is leading the way -- something that the report acknowledges may be counterintuitive for IT professionals. "After all, back-office functions are not often the first to benefit from investment in advanced digital technologies," the report states. "But the era of intelligent automation provides a way to change that."

A robot with true artificial intelligence is about to invade space. The large, round, plastic robot head is part of SpaceX's latest supply delivery to the International Space Station. Friday's pre-dawn liftoff also includes two sets of genetically identical female mice, 20 mousestronauts that will pick up where NASA's identical twin brother astronauts left off a few years ago. Super-caffeinated coffee is also flying up for the space station's java-craving crew. As intriguing as identical space siblings and turbo-charged space coffee may be, it's the German robot -- named Cimon, pronounced Simon, after a genius doctor in science fiction's "Captain Future" -- that's stealing the show.

A robot with true artificial intelligence is about to invade space. The large, round, plastic robot head is part of SpaceX's latest supply delivery to the International Space Station. Friday's pre-dawn liftoff also includes two sets of genetically identical female mice, 20 mousestronauts that will pick up where NASA's identical twin brother astronauts left off a few years ago. Super-caffeinated coffee is also flying up for the space station's java-craving crew. As intriguing as identical space siblings and turbo-charged space coffee may be, it's the German robot -- named Cimon, pronounced Simon, after a genius doctor in science fiction's "Captain Future" -- that's stealing the show.

In the past month, workers in Silicon Valley have demanded that the large tech companies where they work stop doing business with federal agencies associated with the ghastlier policies of the Trump administration and local governments--and in some cases it's worked. Google said it would not renew a contract with the Pentagon to build an A.I. system for military drones after thousands of employees signed a petition and dozens quit in protest. Orlando, Florida's police department dropped Amazon's facial-recognition tech after a public outcry that included criticisms from Amazon employees opposed to the activity. Microsoft is keeping a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite demands from more than 100 of its employees who believe doing so signals a complicity with the administration's hard-line immigration policy. This activity has been facilitated by the Tech Workers Coalition, a volunteer group of professionals in the tech industry that has worked on a number of labor, justice, and equality issues in recent years.

While robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) promise great advances in productivity, mostly they seem to worry people. Commentators talk and write endlessly about how these marvelous technologies will steal jobs from both workers and the managerial class, creating a large unemployed population. If history has anything to say, however, and it does, such fears are not only exaggerated, they are off the mark entirely. Ultimately, AI will create more new jobs than it destroys and likely in occupations heretofore nonexistent. Popular commentary on this matter maintains an almost universally downbeat tone.

Over the last 20 years, the ongoing digital revolution has brought massive changes to the way most of us work and live. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will offer even faster and deeper change. Forward-looking government leaders are acting now to prepare public sector organizations to fulfill of the full promise of AI. They are blazing a trail for AI to free up their employees and serve citizens more effectively. AI is on track to make a bigger impact on business and society than any previous technology.

The Air Force is advancing plans to retire its Predator drone by transitioning pilots to the larger Reaper drone – and widening the mission scope of Reapers to include more weapons integration, attack options and ISR possibilities. The retirement and transition from the Predator to expanded Reaper use will finish by the end of this year, Air Force officials said. "The MQ-1 Predator paved the way through 24 years of service and adaptation leading to expanded capabilities of the MQ-9 Reaper. The mission set doesn't change. The capabilities to fulfill those multi-role missions are expanded by the MQ-9 Reaper," Maj.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are about to get an AI personal assistant. Known as CIMON (Crew Interactive MObile CompanioN) the bot, developed by Airbus, will use IBM's Watson AI technology to help astronauts. Researchers hope that with its face, voice and artificial intelligence, it will become a genuine'colleague' on board, helping astronauts with their daily routines, and warning of any impending problems - much like the HAL robot in Stanley Kubrick's 2001 was designed to do. Known as CIMON (Crew Interactive MObile CompanioN) the bot will use IBM's Watson technology to help astronauts. CIMON is designed to support astronauts in performing routine work, for example by displaying procedures or – thanks to its'neural' AI network and its ability to learn – offering solutions to problems.