The risks posed by intelligent devices will soon surpass the magnitude of those associated with natural disasters. Tens of billions of connected sensors are being embedded in everything ranging from industrial robots and safety systems to self-driving cars and refrigerators. At the same time, the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are evolving rapidly. Our growing reliance on so many intelligent, connected devices is opening up the possibility of global-scale shutdowns. The good news is that natural disasters themselves, which Munich Re says caused $330 billion in economic losses globally in 2017, provide a template for how to mitigate the growing and catastrophic risk posed by AI.

Russian hackers may have stolen years' worth of competitive advantage by swiping secrets of United States' drone and other military technology after an Associated Press (AP) investigation revealed they targeted key contract workers into exposing their emails. It is uncertain what exactly may have been stolen, but Fancy Bear (the hackers who interfered in the U.S. election) targeted at least 87 people working on militarized drones, cloud-computing platforms, stealth fighter jets, rockets, missiles, and other sensitive technology, for companies like Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Boeing Co., Airbus Group and General Atomics. Charles Sowell, a former senior adviser to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and one of Fancy Bear's targets, told the AP: "The programs that they appear to target and the people who work on those programs are some of the most forward-leaning, advanced technologies." "And if those programs are compromised in any way, then our competitive advantage and our defense is compromised. That's what's really scary," Sowell, who reviewed the list for AP, added.

Astronauts are spending a month in isolation on a simulated'red planet' in the desolate Dhofar desert in Oman to help prepare humanity for a future mission to Mars. Using a drone, robotic rovers and an inflatable greenhouse, the astronauts will carry out 19 experiments on this baron area, picked for its resemblance to Mars. Seen from space, the Dhofar Desert is a flat, brown expanse and few animals or plants survive its temperatures that can top 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51 degrees Celsius. On the eastern edge of a seemingly endless dune is the Oman Mars Base is a giant 2.4-ton inflated habitat surrounded by shipping containers turned into labs and crew quarters. More than 200 scientists from 25 nations have chosen it as their location to field-test technology for a manned mission to the red planet which Nasa hopes to achieve by the 2030s.

What is a Voice Interface? Ranging from Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Microsoft's Cortana the use of voice-based communication through devices like a Mobile App is in demand. You might be doubtful with written instructions on the computer but the use of voice interface communication has exceeded the user rate is spreading virally like social media news. Several Google-based software assistants innovated in progress are developed as voice communicating tools falling into the category of VUIs. Voices fed in through a program are heard when a logical yes is read by the sensors which serve as a voice interface with certain devices running it.

The recent surfacing news regarding industrial recruitment must have highlighted such phrases giving you a sense that the future next would perish human staff through replacing them with machinery categorized under artificial intelligence (AI). Many are visualizing this situation as a potential risk to human adjustment in the companies who are moving towards AI with a really fast pace. According to Zehra Ali, Cybersecurity expert, "AI (artificial intelligence) would be the upcoming strongest IT industry trend". However, an industry working hard to figure out the expertise of a particular technology is not an approach always towards the employee replacement. Such behavior could be a way forward to help enhance their capabilities for finding a new staff.

GENEVA – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is to launch a major push for disarmament talks covering everything from nuclear and cyber war to small arms, braving certain U.S. resistance to such bold initiatives, officials and experts said. Guterres aims to forestall a new nuclear arms race and get the big powers back into negotiations after two decades of stalemate, according to a Geneva-based expert familiar with the plans who requested anonymity. The expert said Guterres also wants to end "state-led paralysis" in talks on cyberwarfare and robotics by getting the private sector involved, and to start talks on use of explosives in urban areas and curbing access to conventional weapons, the biggest killer. Chances of success are uncertain at best. But with nuclear tensions rising, Guterres may be uniquely placed to oil the wheels of negotiations given a 2009 U.N. Security Council pledge to "create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons."

How can we as public servants stay up to date on what Canadians want from us? How do we react to issues in society at the pace that Canadians expect of us? Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest tool in a suite of technologies being employed to meet the demands of an increasingly digital population. The proliferation of these technologies has provoked a growing international dialogue about the effects of advanced data analytics and AI on society and what government needs to do to adapt to this new reality. Despite this rapidly changing environment, there has been less discussion about what it means for government to deploy these tools for its own purposes.

One of the most important issues that Congress will face in 2018 is how and when to regulate our growing dependence on artificial intelligence (AI). During the U.S. National Governors Association summer meetings, Elon Musk urged the group to push forward with regulation "before it's too late," stati...

This post originally appeared in The Cipher Brief. When we think of arms races, we are naturally drawn to the physical: missiles, satellites, fighter jets, submarines and aircraft carriers. While those assets are important for conventional warfare, there is an emerging technological arms race in artificial intelligence (AI) that will have profound implications for the balance of power in the 21st Century. When it comes to AI, the arms race is a two-country competition, between the U.S. and China. Given the economic implications as well as the tactical consequences, the stakes are incredibly high for both countries.

Bottom Line: China's nationwide pursuit to become the world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) is an attempt to not only match U.S. economic power, but to bypass it geo-strategically. While Beijing's involvement is spurred by economic ambitions, it has made it clear that the development of AI will simultaneously be for military applications that could change the character of warfare and place the U.S. at a geopolitical disadvantage. Background: China has quickly spurred its innovation engines into action, seeking to leapfrog U.S. military and technological supremacy through advanced AI and machine learning. Their unique brand of capitalism and government control has enabled bottom-up innovation that is broadly guided by the hand of the Chinese Community Party. China's whole-of-nation approach means the U.S. has found itself in a race against a strategic competitor.