This week I was joined by dozens of visitors for the unveiling of an exciting new part of our Watson IoT Center in Munich, Germany. The new Government Industry Lab is an extension of the industry section of the Center, which provides tangible examples of how IoT and cognitive technologies are impacting how we live and work including automotive, manufacturing and worker safety. Government leaders are continually challenged to improve program outcomes, optimize service delivery, and strengthen security, safety and resilience. They face these challenges knowing they have to build capabilities to identify hidden patterns, apply insight with speed and build knowledge that will better enable them to enhance and protect the economic vitality of the citizens and communities they serve. The new Government Industry Lab is designed to help government organizations with these challenges. It demonstrates real examples of how understanding sensor data from the environment and within our cities through cognitive technologies can offer new insights and improve quality of public services.

Under new rules issued Oct. 7 by the Department of Health and Human Services, employers and universities are allowed to cite religious or moral objections in order to end birth control coverage that was available under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making speedy progress in acquiring skills that were previously regarded as exclusively human. Whether it's beating masters at the ancient game of Go or getting better and better at autonomous driving, the many emerging forms of computer intelligence are giving us pause as a species. AI is real and it's the next big thing in our social evolution. Even if you don't believe in the singularity -- the theoretical point at which AI will outstrip all human intelligence -- it's undeniable that AI is playing an increasing role in our everyday lives, from serving up search results, car navigating, suggesting entertainment options, shopping recommendations and automating more and more jobs. It's natural to be wary, even scared, of the growing power of AI.

Is your learning establishment preparing for – or even aware of – the next revolution in human development: robots educating our young? Artificial intelligence (AI), though rudimentary at the moment, is already having an impact on daily life. Your mobile phone is fast becoming a personal assistant, learning to anticipate your needs. Computer games contain virtual characters that learn to respond to their environment and smart cars are doing the same in the real world. And the UK government is keen for the country to exploit AI, publishing a report on the impact of AI on the economy, estimating that it could add another £630bn to the UK economy by 2035.

Episode two of Blue Planet II could be one of Sir David Attenborough's scariest shows yet - giving us a glimpse of life in total darkness that we are only just starting to explore. The episode also looks at peculiar gardens that are thriving in the pitch black as well as species of coral that have never been seen in shallower waters. The fangtooth (pictured) has the largest teeth relative to body size for any fish in the entire ocean. The filming of Blue Planet involved around 1,000 people from producers to deep sea divers, researchers to scientists, camera crews to helicopter pilots and drone operators. Some 125 expeditions were undertaken across every ocean, with 1,500 days spent at sea and 6,000 hours underwater.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is the great story of our time, thanks to the low cost of computing, storage, and off-the-shelf machine algorithms. However, cyber criminals also have access to these resources and are able to build smarter malware. This means that the attackers of the future will be machines that think, as hackers will look for new ways to use AI to their own benefit. We will witness sophisticated attacks launched on a large scale both quickly and intelligently, with little human intervention. As the digital economy expands, cybersecurity threats will also grow.

A high-flying drone equipped with surveillance sensors and a wingspan longer than that of a Boeing 737 will be the newest way for the U.S. Navy to monitor the seas. The first operational MQ-4C Triton drone will be delivered by Northrop Grumman Corp. to the Navy within the next week at Point Mugu Naval Air Station near Oxnard, with a second drone to follow by the end of the year. The two drones will undergo testing at Point Mugu before being deployed to Guam next year. The program has strong California roots -- engineering and design is done in Rancho Bernardo, and the drone is assembled in Palmdale. During low-rate initial production, that line will churn out three Tritons a year.

In a world characterised by technology, where new advancements and innovations come to life every day, our capabilities have far exceeded what were once thought possible. When the first mobile phone call was made, when the first electric car was driven, and when the first remote surgery was performed -- the world was wowed, as it has been with every great "first" in the realm of technology. We are consistently amazed by what technology can do, and as time passes, the magnitude of its capabilities and the world's subsequent astonishment are heightened. And as society progresses, technology will only continue to redefine what is possible when innovation, resources, and initiative come together. With the recently launched UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy, introduced by his highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, the world will bear witness to a slew of new "firsts" -- technological developments conceived in one of the world's greatest innovation hubs which will make ripples across the globe.

In recent years, MIT scholars have helped develop a whole lexicon of science and math terms for use in Haiti's Kreyòl language. Now a collaboration with Google is making those terms readily available to anyone -- an important step in the expansion of Haitian Kreyòl for education purposes. The new project, centered around the MIT-Haiti Initiative, has been launched as part of an enhancement to the Google Translate program. Now anyone using Google Translate can find an extensive set of Kreyòl terms, including recent coinages, in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. "In the past five or six years, we've witnessed quite a paradigm shift in the way people in Haiti talk about and use Kreyòl," says Michel DeGraff, a professor of linguistics at MIT and director of the MIT-Haiti Initiative.

Until recently, the most famous thing that Sophia the robot had ever done was beat Jimmy Fallon a little too easily in a nationally televised game of rock-paper-scissors. But now, the advanced artificial intelligence robot -- which looks like Audrey Hepburn, mimics human expressions and may be the grandmother of robots that solve the world's most complex problems -- has a new feather in her cap: The kingdom of Saudi Arabia officially granted citizenship to the humanoid robot last week during a program at the Future Investment Initiative, a summit that links deep-pocketed Saudis with inventors hoping to shape the future. Sophia's recognition made international headlines -- and sparked an outcry against a country with a shoddy human rights record that has been accused of making women second-class citizens. "Thank you to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the country's newest citizen said. "It is historic to be the first robot in the world granted citizenship."