The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to speed the introduction of self-driving cars by giving the federal government authority to exempt automakers from safety standards not applicable to the technology, and to permit deployment of up to 100,000 of the vehicles annually over the next several years. The bill was passed by a voice vote. State and local officials have raised concern that it limits their ability to protect people's safety by giving the federal government sole authority to regulate the vehicles' design and performance. States would still decide whether to permit self-driving cars on their roads. Generally, the federal government regulates the vehicle, while states regulate the driver.

Self-driving vehicles will need to be equipped with cybersecurity technology to prevent them from being used in terrorist attacks, according to legislation passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday. With substantial bipartisan support in a voice vote, the House approved the so-called Self Drive Act, which seeks to speed the introduction of self-driving vehicles on US roads by streamlining the regulatory process. A new law does not appear to be imminent, however, as corresponding legislation is yet to be introduced in the Senate. Recent terror attacks in Charlottesville,, London, Nice and elsewhere have involved vehicles being driven into crowds. Under the House bill, self-driving or autonomous vehicles would need to be equipped with defenses against hacking, "unauthorized intrusions and false and spurious messages or vehicle control commands".

In this special guest feature, David McLaughlin, CEO and Founder of QuantaVerse, discusses how advancements in data science, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and big data, promise to stifle money laundering and change outcomes for victims around the globe. Financial institutions have begun working smarter through the use of AI and machine learning to help banks dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of money laundering investigations. David McLaughlin is CEO and founder of QuantaVerse, an innovator of data science and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions purpose-built for identifying financial crimes. David spent six years as a naval officer, starting in 1986 as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and attending flight school in Pensacola, FL. He is a graduate from the highly regarded TOPGUN program, and completed a combat tour in the Persian Gulf where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Air Medals for bravery in combat. Prior to founding QuantaVerse, David held senior executive positions with IPR International, NES Financial and SEI.

A 22,000-strong multinational African Union force known as AMISOM has been helping to support Somalia's fragile central government after more than two decades as a failed state. Both it and the U.S. military are trying to prepare Somalia's armed forces to take over the country's security before AMISOM's planned departure by the end of 2020.

The first of these events, Policy for Artificial Intelligence: Ethics and Inclusion for the Algorithmic Age, will feature Frank Escoubes (Bluenove's CEO), John C. Havens: Executive Director, The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems, and Cyrus Hodes, director of the AI Initiative with The Future Society at Harvard Kennedy School. This introductory webinar will provide a general perspective on why creating proactive and inclusive policy for AI is so important, featuring the efforts of The Harvard AI Initiative and their 6 month, global Online Civic Debate called, Governing the rise of Artificial Intelligence featuring Assembl, the collective intelligence platform. As Moderator, John will provide perspectives AI Ethics and how it relates to policy regarding The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems while also delving into specific issues Cyrus and Frank feel are most compelling to focus on in AI Policy today. Frank Escoubes is the President and co-founder of bluenove, a consulting and technology firm specialized in open innovation and collective intelligence based in France and Canada. Frank is a former Deloitte Principal.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has received a lot of criticism recently for saying at the National Governors Association meeting, "AI is a fundamental existential risk for human civilization, and I don't think people fully appreciate that." Musk also referred to artificial intelligence (AI) technology as "the scariest problem" and called for government regulation. This is not new rhetoric; we have heard alarming language about AI as an existential threat to humanity for years now. I prefer to be killed by my own stupidity rather than the codified morals of a software engineer or the learned morals of an evolving algorithm. No. Do I feel threatened?

The trade deficit had narrowed in the spring as exports of U.S. computer products and farm goods rose. U.S. exporters benefited from a decline in the value of the dollar, which makes American products cheaper overseas. Solid global growth also helped, as economies from Europe to Asia to Latin America are expanding simultaneously. Exports in June were the highest in 2 ½ years.

Security guard Eric Leon watches the Knightscope K5 security robot as it glides through the mall, charming shoppers with its blinking blue and white lights. The brawny automaton records video and sounds alerts. According to its maker, it deters mischief just by making the rounds. Leon, the all-too-human guard, feels pretty sure that the robot will someday take his job. "He doesn't complain," Leon says. But the K5 is only one of a growing menagerie of automated novelties in a region where you can eat a delivered pizza made via automation and drink beers at a bar served by an airborne robot.

Elon Musk is worried about governments, specifically the Russian one, competing for artificial intelligence superiority and sparking World War III. That shocking statement was made all the more shocking by the low expectations the world seems to have for Russia, which US Senator John McCain dismissed just a few years ago as a "gas station masquerading as a country." Recent remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin grabbed Musk's attention. Speaking to schoolchildren about AI on 1 September, Putin declared, "Whoever becomes the leader in this area will rule the world." Musk's response emerged on Twitter: "It begins..." Actually, Russia isn't "beginning" anything when it comes to AI.

For all the huge potential of artificial intelligence, bots still have a long way to go to pass as human. You don't know whether I'm a dog or not, but you can at least be reasonably confident that I'm not a bot. But then I'm writing articles of between 300 and 3,000 words: there's plenty of room to slip up – especially if you've been trained through machine learning, rather than speaking, reading and writing in English for more than 30 years. In the realm of short-form social media and comments sections, where grammar and syntax are both more fluid and less closely scrutinised, it's far easier for bots to blend in, as a study from the University of Chicago found out last week. The bot they'd trained to review restaurants was astroturfing with the best of them. "My family and I are huge fans of this place," the bot gourmet wrote in one sneaky review on Yelp.