That news, plus rumors Battlefield will head back to World War II this year, David Lynch teaches you typing, the ESRB takes less-than-zero action on loot boxes, and a bevy of trailers for Battletech, Heaven's Vault, Vermintide II, and more. This is gaming news for February 26 to March 2. Growing up I remember taking typing classes in school, and then continuing that learning at home with Mario Teaches Typing. I don't think either helped much, and it wasn't until the onset of AIM (rest in peace) that I started hitting my current 100-plus words per minute. Still, I've got a soft spot for those old educational typing tools, which means David Lynch Teaches Typing is the perfect blend of weird and nostalgia. The "Trial Version" is available for free on itch.io.

CAIRO – 28 February 2018: Who would have ever imaged that a small drone, one small enough and unthreatening enough to sit amongst our children's toys, could pose a risk to the whole of humanity. The rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes this a near possibility, and one that could threaten the essence of human morality. A simulation of what micro-drones could do if assigned for killing was used in an international campaign to raise awareness against AI threats, calling international organizations including the United Nations to take serious actions. The simulation was part of a seven-minute fictional video released by the Future of Life Institute and University of California-Berkeley's Professor Stuart Russell. Photo of Slaughterbots – YouTube/Future of Life Institute and University of California-Berkeley Professor Stuart Russel "They used to say guns don't kill people, people do. They get emotional, disobey orders, and aim high. Let's watch the weapons take the decisions," the lecturer said in the video before displaying the killing simulation.

The U.S. Air Force is deploying a new open architecture for its primary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system. At the same time, Air Force researchers are developing deep learning capabilities that will allow the decades-old system to sort through reams of data more easily, enabling faster decision making on the battlefield and enhancing multidomain command and control. An Air Force fact sheet describes the Air Force Distributed Common Ground Station (AF DCGS) as a planning and direction, collection, processing and exploitation, analysis and dissemination weapon system. The system employs a global communications architecture that connects multiple intelligence platforms and sensors. Airmen assigned to AF DCGS produce actionable intelligence from data collected by various sensors on the U-2, RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper and other intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. As Facebook confronts a lawsuit over how it collects and uses biometric data, the social network is notifying more users about new facial recognition features that may infringe upon their privacy. Many people who logged onto Facebook this week were greeted with a News Feed alert detailing the new tools available through facial recognition software. Some people are receiving a notification saying that the "setting is on," while for others, it says "the setting is off." It's possible that the difference has to do with existing settings the user had selected.

European Union officials have said they will respond "firmly" if US President Donald Trump presses ahead with his plan for steep global duties on metals. EU trade chiefs are considering slapping 25% tariffs on around $3.5bn (£2.5bn) of imports from the US, Reuters news agency reports. World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo said: "A trade war is in no one's interests." The rhetoric ramped up as Mr Trump tweeted that "trade wars are good". International condemnation has greeted the US president's Thursday announcement that he plans to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminium next week.

The offense would be a misdemeanor if the drone operator takes photos or videos or gathers other information without permission. Republican Rep. Diane St. Onge said her bill would not affect news media using drones to cover emergencies, and that a separate bill under consideration would set out permitted uses of drones by the media and others.

LAHORE – The Communist Party of China's (CPC) decision this week to eliminate presidential term limits seems to open the door for President Xi Jinping to be not just "Chairman of Everything," but also "Chairman Forever." The move has been met with dismay around the world, but it has also intensified an ongoing debate among China experts over whether the biggest threat to China is too much executive power, or too little. Where one stands on that question seems to depend largely on whether one is a political scientist, an economist, or a technologist. Many political scientists and legal scholars, for example, argue against the change, because they consider the model of collective leadership that the CPC established after 1979 to be one of its biggest successes. That model's term limits and system of peer review for high-level decision-making has provided the checks necessary to prevent a repeat of Mao-era catastrophes such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

The rise of machine intelligence has prompted policy wonks to weigh in with a list of caveats along with recommendations for preserving the American technology lead in AI and machine learning while initiating the process of managing future risks. The respected Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report on Thursday (March 1) calling for a national machine intelligence strategy. Underwritten by U.S. technology contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH), the study takes a "look-before-you-leap" approach to machine intelligence development while advocating steps for maintaining the current U.S. lead. The report recommends "safe and responsible" development of machine intelligence by funding long-term R&D in areas the private sector has little incentive to invest. Along with risky, long term research, the government should focus on national security applications and "systems of ethics and control" akin to government agencies that help referee disputes over technology standards.

The government needs to make targeted investments in artificial intelligence to continue the country's global leadership in the burgeoning industry and prepare Americans for a changing workforce, according to technology experts. Policymakers must to limit regulations on artificial intelligence, create more job retraining programs and invest more heavily in research the private sector may not have incentives to pursue, panelists said Thursday at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The discussion coincided with the release of a report from CSIS and Booz Allen Hamilton detailing key factors the government should consider when creating a national strategy for artificial intelligence innovation. "A much as other countries are going to be a part of the development of this technology, the U.S. needs to lead and needs to invest [in artificial intelligence] because this technology has huge potential implications for us," said Will Carter, deputy director and fellow at the CSIS Technology Policy Program, who co-authored the report. Artificial intelligence research and procurement constitutes a "relatively small" portion of the federal budget, Carter said, but it's expected "to generate the bulk of our next generation of capabilities."

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used a new drilling method to produce a hole on Feb. 26, 2018, in a rock target named Lake Orcadie. The hole marks the first operation of the rover's drill since a motor problem began acting up more than a year ago. NASA's Mars rover Curiosity just drilled into a Red Planet rock for the first time in more than a year. Curiosity bored a hole about 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) deep into a target rock on Monday (Feb. The car-size rover's drill -- a key tool at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm that allows it to snag pristine samples from the interiors of ancient rocks -- has been out of commission since late 2016, when a motor that extends two stabilizing posts on either side of the drill bit conked out.