This week, Uber announced that it will cease operations in Arizona and revive its self-driving tests in Pittsburgh. This, apparently, was news to the mayor of Pittsburgh, who issued a press release stating that he hadn't been informed of that announcement. "I made it clear to Uber officials after the Arizona crash that a full federal investigation had to be completed, with strong rules for keeping streets safe, before I would agree with the company to begin testing on Pittsburgh streets again," he said in the release. But, considering the NTSB released its preliminary report on that fatal Arizona crash today, it makes sense that Uber would want to continue its self-driving tests, which have been on hold since the accident. Mayor William Peduto had two conditions before he would agree to allowing Uber to test on Pittsburgh streets again: the computer-operated vehicles would never exceed a speed of 25 mph in the city, regardless of what posted speed limits were, and the company would use its app to alert drivers when they are exceeding speed limits when humans are in control.

Tempe, Arizona police released video of the Uber Self-Driving SUV crash that killed a woman on Sunday. It shows a woman push her bicycle on a dark road and the human back-up driver's reaction.This video includes images some may find disturbing. A self-driving Uber vehicle fatally struck a woman Sunday, March 18, 2018, in Tempe. Uber's self-driving car system detected an Arizona pedestrian about six seconds before the vehicle it was in killed the woman in March. But the system never took action to prevent the incident, according to the preliminary results of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

The British government is keen to recognise the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in ensuring the long-term future success of UK industry. In line with this, it has acknowledged that one of its'grand challenges' is putting the UK at the forefront of the AI and data revolution. In fact, comments from Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond have suggested that large swathes of government activity will soon be performed by AI and automation to free up time for (human) civil servants. Automating some aspects of government jobs will result in savings and efficiencies. However, there are concerns that public sector workers will be at risk of losing their jobs to AI and automation in the next decade.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Uber [UBER.UL] self-driving vehicle that struck and killed a woman in Arizona in March failed to identify the pedestrian or to brake, raising serious questions about its performance, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report released on Thursday.

Just over an hour into Tuesday's California Public Utilities Commission public meeting on the future of self-driving taxis, the machines took over. "Please pardon the interruption," a kindly robotic voice said, cutting into a government official's prepared remarks. "Your conference contains less than three participants at this time. If you would like to continue, press star 1 now, or your conference will be terminated." In fact, there were three commissioners and two administrative judges sitting on the auditorium's dais.

Disturbing images have emerged from inside a Chinese sex robot factory where people can order custom-made AI dolls, some of which are the size of children. The AI dolls, which cost on average $3,100 (£2,300), have soft and elastic skin made from rubbery plastic that contain less oil content than normal plastics and reportedly do not smell. The plastic is heated to 37 C to reflect a human's body temperature and developers say these perverse dolls have body sensors that also make them feel human-like. The company that makes the robots, Shenzhen Atall Intelligent Robot Technology which is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, says most of its clients are 40 to 50-year-old men that come from Europe and the US. Disturbing images give an insight into China's strange sex robot factory where people can order custom-made AI dolls, some of which are the size of children.

MajorMajor CyberCyber--AttackAttack UK Internet Service ProviderUK Internet Service Provider EstimatedEstimated $$$$$$ Loss Loss $55$55 MillionMillion 12. 1717thth Nov 2015Nov 2015: "Islamic State is Plotting: "Islamic State is Plotting Deadly CyberDeadly Cyber--Attacks":Attacks": George OsborneGeorge Osborne 12CyberVision: 2015CyberVision: 2015 -- 20252025 *** 21stC Cybersecurity Trends *** London, UK:: 15th December 2015 Dr David E. Probert: www.VAZA.com

UK Defence Minister Gavin Williamson meets members of the US-UK Defence Innovation Board. UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has launched the new artificial intelligence (AI) hub at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in Porton Down, Salisbury. The launch was announced at the joint US-UK Defence Innovation Board meeting conducted to explore major areas of co-operation between the nations and ensure military capabilities into the future. Williamson said: "The relationship we have with our US partners is indispensable to both our nations. In the face of evolving global threats, we must harness new technologies and approaches to stay ahead of our adversaries and keep us safe.

National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog), formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015, on Wednesday inked a pact with Swiss group ABB's Indian subsidiary ABB India to help the country reap the benefits of latest technologies including robotics and artificial intelligence towards realizing the government's ambitious vision of'Make in India' & 'Digital India' concept. The duo signed a statement of intent (SoI) and as per it, the NITI Aayog will work with ABB across various sectors to suggest solutions for digitalization, incorporating the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI technologies. They will also work with ministries, solicit feedback for areas critical to them and discuss solutions using industrial automation, and digitalization technologies. This tie up will also cover the fast growing segment of electric mobility. We are excited to partner with @NITIAayog to help India's economy benefit from the latest technologies in digitalization, artificial intelligence, robotics, and industrial automation.

NASA precious Curiosity rover is once again drilling the surface of Mars. The robotic vehicle used a new drilling technique May 20 and penetrated into a Martian rock named "Duluth" for the first time in more than a year. Though drilling a hole in a rock appears to be no big thing, especially for a technology-rigged rover strolling on the red planet, it's a big milestone for NASA. The engineers worked hard for months to make sure the latest method works appropriately and overcomes the mechanical problems witnessed almost two years ago. Curiosity's original drilling mechanism went offline in 2016, taking away the vehicle's critical ability to analyze powder samples from Martian rocks. According to a Gizmodo report, first electrical issues plagued the drill's hammering mechanism and then the vehicle's drill feed malfunctioned in December that year.