Recent use includes the assassination with VX of Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 and the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a 66-year-old former Russian double agent, and his daughter with a Novichok nerve agent in March in England.

File photo - Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle leave St Mary Magdalene's church after the Royal Family's Christmas Day service on the Sandringham estate in eastern England, Britain, December 25, 2017. The Royal Wedding this weekend will be spectacular and the vast security operation to keep the couple, their guests and the crowds safe will be a masterpiece of planning. Authorities in the U.K. have had to consider all potential threats and prepare solutions. Highly trained and experienced manpower, combined with a blend of low tech and high tech approaches will deliver a masterclass in how to keep a gigantic event safe - one highly attractive to terrorists, protesters and pranksters alike, and while the entire world is watching on their televisions. Keeping a Royal wedding safe is no small task.

Thousands of NHS staff are to be trained to use robotics and artificial intelligence as the health service sets out to embrace cutting-edge innovation and technology. New developments in genomics, digital medicine, artificial intelligence and robotics have already revolutionised some NHS treatments such as eye surgery and knee replacements. Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called on US academic Eric Topol to carry out a review into how the NHS can pioneer new treatments and technologies to transform healthcare. Dr Topol, an expert in cardiology, genetics and digital medicine, has previously examined the use of wireless and smartphone technology in healthcare, and led a multi-million dollar US research programme focusing on harnessing technology and data to provide more precise, tailored patient treatment. Supported by international experts, his independent review will examine artificial intelligence – including robotics – genomics and digital medicine.

You'll often see positive news stories coming out of the tech press involving robotics projects that are designed to help people with mobility issues. Exoskeletons, like Toyota's WelWalk, ReWalk, and Ekso Bionics' eponymous walking frame, help people regain the use of their legs. Sit-stand wheelchairs are currently gaining lots of attention, and they do offer, for many people, much greater freedom and independence than standard chairs. But more often than not, they're designed for people with specific disability requirements -- and that means not everyone will get to use them. Not all disabilities are the same, and because they manifest themselves in different ways, it's hard to make generalizations.

Last week, the UK announced a deal between private and public groups that would bring more than $200 million of AI investment into the country, a representative of the initiative told Quartz. The UK government is pledging $30 million to build AI tech incubators, while VC firm Global Brain has pledged a $50 million fund and Chrysalix will put up a fund of more than $100 million. The government will also take a more proactive role in funding academic research, financially supporting 1,000 AI PhDs at any given time. This supports universities such as Cambridge and Oxford, which both have large artificial intelligence programs.

Advances in artificial intelligence and data analytics are propelling innovation in many parts of the world.[1] China, for example, has committed $150 billion towards its goal of becoming a world leader by 2030.[2] And while the United States government is investing only $1.1 billion in non-classified AI research, its private sector is spending billions in fields from finance and healthcare to retail and defense.[3] This is transforming a number of different sectors.[4] Yet India is playing catch-up in these vital areas. It devotes only 0.6 percent of GDP to R&D, well below the 2.74 percent in the United States and 2.07 in China.[5]

Most people might use sprays or swatters to get rid of pesky mosquitoes from their homes. Now, Florida county is set to battle these troublesome pests with teams of low-flying insect-fighting drones. The state even has plans to create one mammoth craft that weighs the same as a grizzly bear (1,500 pounds/ 680kg). As a result of a new US federal programme, authorities will be able to fly drones at night and directly over people at'low altitude', something that would not have been permitted under current law. Details about when or how the unmanned drone will be combating the country's pest problem have yet to be revealed.

Machine learning is critical to the future of cybersecurity and helping security teams overcome the challenges of modern cybersecurity attacks. Indeed, its ability to'outthink' humans can boost return on investment (ROI), drastically improve productivity and minimise resource expenditure. However, machine learning is also not just a'set and forget' solution. In fact, companies need to treat machine like an intern on their first day. Security teams should not assume a machine learning programme can hit the ground running – there needs to be an onboarding process where you check in on the models frequently and spend time getting them started in the right direction.

Artificial Intelligence is already changing society. Algorithms and machine learning are trading millions of euros in financial markets; they are predicting what people want to search for online and what shows they might like to watch on Netflix; AI is already helping police identify criminals using facial recognition (albeit with mixed results), and sifting through climate change data. Soon, AI could be driving our cars and trains (even our ships and planes). How will these new technologies transform our workplaces, our homes, our cities, and our lives? Inevitably, there will be disruption.

The death of a pedestrian who was struck by an autonomous vehicle in Tempe, Arizona, has brought fresh scrutiny to the accelerating development of self-driving cars. The accident on March 18 is bound to be studied exhaustively, both to determine fault and to assess and refine the overall safety of autonomous systems. According to accounts of the accident, the vehicle, outfitted to test Uber's autonomous driving system, struck a woman at night as she pushed her bicycle across a road outside of a designated crosswalk. Video of the crash, released by Tempe police, shows a woman emerging from a darkened area seconds before she was struck; in the same span of time, the safety driver looks down multiple times for reasons that aren't clear. Uber pledged its full cooperation in the unfolding investigation but has already reached a settlement with some of the victim's family members, while others have come forward, according to multiple news reports.