Blockchain has always seemed to me like a solution looking for a problem, which isn't a criticism. The laser, the transistor, and the integrated circuit all lingered, underutilized, until either the technology evolved, a complementary technology matured, and/or some clever entrepreneur enabled their wide and disruptive adoption. Or take barcodes, which were first deployed with middling success to track train cars, and only took on the eponymous universality of "UPC codes" when cash registers became more than mechanical contraptions. Currencies such as Bitcoin may well be only the first iteration of a blockchain-powered technology, but one that could disappear in a puff of smoke and a pool of investor tears if the speculative bubble pops. However, the notion of a decentralized, public ledger of consensus-driven facts about the world--which is what a blockchain fundamentally is--has a utility well beyond wild-eyed, crypto-anarchist dreams.

Facebook's privacy practices are under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission following a week of scandals and public outrage over the company's failure to protect the personal information of tens of millions of users. "The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook," said Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection in a statement on Monday noting that the investigation would include whether the company engaged in "unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers". Facebook's stock, which already took a big hit last week, slid as a result falling by as much as 6% at one point. "We remain strongly committed to protecting people's information," Facebook's deputy chief privacy officer, Rob Sherman, said in a statement. "We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the FTC may have." Facebook's privacy practices have come under fire after revelations in the Observer that Cambridge Analytica got data on Facebook users, including information on friends of people who had downloaded a psychological quiz app, even though those friends had not given explicit consent to sharing.

Russia may soon use robots to carry out AI-powered assassinations as part of a new cold war, a computer expert has claimed. Future attacks on exiles and dissidents could be untraceable thanks to the use of automatons, warns Dr Jeremy Straub at Dakota State University. Intelligent machines could be programmed to hack into food ordering systems, like those used at fast food restaurants, to poison their victims. This would have the benefit of killing a target, while appearing to the outside world to be an accidental allergic reaction. The claims come in the wake of the high profile attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, which involved the use of a deadly nerve agent. Prime Minister Theresa May has laid the blame at Moscow's door, expelling a number of prominent diplomats from Britain in the process.

More and more key players in the tech industry are voicing their concerns over the use of personal data following Facebook's massive Cambridge Analytica scandal. Executives from Apple Inc and IBM Corp have called for more oversight on how personal data is used following the consultancy firm's improper use of data, which affected more than 50 million Facebook users. Speaking at the three-day China Development Forum in Beijing, Apple chief Tim Cook said'well-crafted' regulation was required, while IBM Corp chief Virginia Rometty said users should have more agency over their own data. Executives from Apple Inc and IBM Corp have called for more oversight on how personal data is used following the Facebook Inc breach that saw roughly 50 million users' data misused by consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Facebook has come under intense scrutiny from users, lawmakers and investors following allegations from a whistleblower that it allowed British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to improperly use data and build voter profiles that were later used to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016. U.S. lawmakers on Friday officially requested that Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg explain at a congressional hearing how user's data was released to the consultancy.

Last week, reports surfaced that the FTC was opening an investigation into Facebook regarding Cambridge Analytica's use of its data. The agency has now confirmed that it is indeed investigating the social media giant. "The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook," the FTC said in a statement. "Today, the FTC is confirming that it has an open non-public investigation into these practices." Just over a week ago, a number of reports detailed how Cambridge Analytica obtained Facebook profile information on over 50 million Facebook users through a researcher that collected the data with an app.

Political pressure on Facebook continued to intensify as a key Senator invited CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress and a regulatory agency confirmed it had launched an investigation. The scrutiny stems from revelations that a political consultancy employed by Donald Trump's presidential campaign harvested some 50 million Facebook users' worth of data via a survey app. As Facebook executives have scrambled to reassure users their personal information remains protected, elected officials have demanded Mr Zuckerberg himself appear before Congress. That push gained momentum with the embrace of Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. Paralleling the augmented attention from Congress, the Federal Trade Commission confirmed it had opened an investigation into Facebook's privacy and data security practices.

The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection confirmed Monday that has undertaken a non-public investigation into Facebook's data practices, according to a statement from Tom Pahl, the agency's acting director. The announcement comes just over a week after The New York Times and the The Guardian published explosive reports about the reported improper use of data belonging to 50 million Facebook users by the Trump-campaign affiliated data firm Cambridge Analytica. This isn't the first time the FTC has investigated the social network's data practices. In 2011, Facebook agreed to settle charges--though admitted no actual fault--that it "deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public," among other overreaches. The settlement barred Facebook from making further deceptive privacy claims, required it obtain a user's explicit approval before changing the way it handles their data, and mandated that Facebook receive periodic assessments of its privacy practices by third-party auditors for the next 20 years.

Artificial intelligence promises to be a paradigm shift for many applications from manufacturing to finance, and from defense to education. Given the vast potential, focus on AI has sharpened around the world, including in China. Decision makers in Beijing and around the country are paying attention and have begun shaping a legal and policy regime that favors the development of AI. Research and investment in AI on both sides of the Pacific has led to cross-border collaboration – both in terms of talent and capital. Last December, Google announced that it will open an AI research center in Beijing, in part to leverage AI talent there. A month earlier, San Diego-based Qualcomm announced a strategic investment in SenseTime, a Chinese company specializing in facial-recognition software.

Google's artificial intelligence technology is being used by the U.S. Department of Defense to analyze drone footage, a rare and controversial move by a company that's actively limited its work with the military in the past.

In January Google's parent company, Alphabet, announced the launch of Chronicle – an artificial intelligence-based solution for the cybersecurity industry – promising "the power to fight cyber crime on a global scale." There are mixed opinions on the value and readiness of artificial intelligence (AI) in our industry. Just last year Google's own Heather Adkins, director of information security and privacy addressed the crowd at TechCrunch Disrupt 2017 and criticized the over use of artificial intelligence for the cybersecurity industry. Adkins argued that the implementation of artificial intelligence relies too heavily on feedback, "to learn what is good and bad…but we're not sure what good and bad is." She went on to say that companies should invest in more human talent and less technology.