The push over the last decade by international maritime ports to fully automate operations has sparked the ire of many U.S. longshoremen whose high-paying jobs and way of life are at stake. The trend also sets up a battle between their unions and companies and governments who see automation as a cleaner, more efficient and more cost-friendly alternative to the current system. "This may be the most difficult and complex challenge we've ever undertaken,'' Dan Sperling, professor of civil engineering and environmental science at the University of California, Davis and a member of California's Air Resources Board, told Bloomberg. "We're trying to change the entire freight system.'' California is on the frontlines in the battle over automation as the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland handle 40 percent of U.S. container traffic and that number is expected to increase with the expansion of the Panama Canal.

A Tesla Model X reportedly operating on autopilot hit a Phoenix police motorcycle March 21, 2017. The officer wasn't on the motorcycle at the time and no damage was reported to either vehicle. PHOENIX -- A Phoenix police motorcycle was struck by a Tesla Model X reportedly operating on autopilot last week, police said. The incident happened a few days before an accident involving an automated Uber vehicle in Tempe, Ariz. Phoenix police on Monday confirmed that the incident occurred when a Tesla driver and an on-duty officer exited the Black Canyon Freeway on the afternoon of March 21.

Dubai will soon be introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its government sectors, a media report said. A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) smart lab will soon begin training government officials to implement AI in a wide variety of tasks that will make lives easier, reported Khaleej Times on Tuesday. The lab, launched on Monday during a workshop by the Smart Dubai Office (SDO) and Smart Dubai Government Establishment, will begin training a batch of 200 persons next month, but will later on be open to researchers, students and the general public, said the report. "To move towards the future, we have to redefine government and embed AI in our services. We have no choice but to embrace technology," said Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director-General of Smart Dubai Office.

A searing hot laser capable of cutting through aircrafts in seconds has been demonstrated for the first time by the Ministry of Defence. The research will feed into the Dragonfire programme - a strategy intended to create a laser capable of becoming an alternative to missiles. The idea is to take down drones and cut through the hulls of aircraft and armoured vehicles in a more efficient manner. The technology is not yet ready to deploy, with another five to ten years of research ahead of it to perfect the system. The MoD said: 'It won't be a thing of sleek, space age beauty, looking more like a fridge on a truck than a thing of science fiction!

The U.S. president will sign an executive order that will suspend, rescind or flag for review more than a half-dozen measures that were part of Obama's plan to curb global warming. To keep them active -- including a controversial one for a casino with gambling illegal in the kingdom -- he would need to reapply for them during his four-year term, raising potential ethical concerns, AP learns. Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya went back to enjoying a jet-set life within weeks after he was accused of killing a Thai police officer in a hit-and-run nearly five years ago, AP finds. Three police officers have been injured and 35 protesters arrested as an Asian community expresses outrage at the police killing of a Chinese man in his home. Officials found it lacked fire extinguishers, smoke detectors in each apartment and a working fire sprinkler system, among other violations.

If you are among the scant 33% of U.S. adults who believe that humans and other living things evolved solely by a process of natural selection, it might be time to put your money where your mouth is. No, this is not a political fundraising pitch. It's a notice of the impending sale, by auction, of a piece of scientific history -- a signed manuscript page from the concluding chapter of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." Written in the compressed, right-slanting script of Darwin himself, the sheet is numbered "245" in the upper right-hand corner, and would go on to become page 514 of the latest, 3rd edition of his landmark tome. It was likely written in 1859, when the English biologist was about 50 years old.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week made a dangerously ignorant prediction. When asked about the future of artificial intelligence, automation and the workforce, this was his reply: "It's not even on our radar screen," he said at a media event, adding that significant workforce disruption due to AI is "50 to 100" years away. "I'm not worried at all" about robots displacing humans in the near future, Mnuchin said. The Trump administration has repeatedly rejected evidence-based research and objective analysis on issues that include climate and human biology. When confronted with a complicated technology, like machine learning, administration officials now appear to be rejecting curiosity, too.

The U.S. military is developing a fairy-tale-inspired "Gremlin" program that aims to launch and retrieve drones in midair. "Gremlins" are a swarm of drones that can be deployed from a manned aircraft, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the branch of the U.S. military charged with developing new and innovative technologies for the nation's war fighters. The Gremlin program will allow aircraft pilots to launch the drones as needed, and call them back to the transport plane while both are still in flight. DARPA announced the Gremlin concept in 2015, when the agency called for proof-of-concept designs for the first phase of the project. Now, DARPA is moving on to the second phase, which will see the continued development of two ideas, according to Scott Wierzbanowski, DARPA program manager.

The Smart Dubai Office and Smart Dubai Government Establishment launched an artificial intelligence (AI) smart laboratory to begin training of 200 people in April and later it will be open for visits to the general public too, the Khaleej Times newspaper reported. "To move towards the future, we have to redefine government and embed AI in our services. We have no choice but to embrace technology … We want to replace call centers and help parents choose schools for their children using cognitive computing," Aisha bint Butti bin Bishr, the director-general of Smart Dubai Office, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. According to the city officials, the artificial intelligence will not replace regular jobs and will not be responsible for the human interactions, but instead will be focused on helping people to fulfill their duties better by performing quick search through the archives and other operations, where the influence of human factor is likely to cause mistakes. Earlier in January, the Japanese Mitsubishi Research Institute said that the introduction of artificial intelligence machines in Japan is expected to create 5 million workplaces by 2030.

WASHINGTON – The world's largest manufacturer of civilian drones is proposing that the craft continually transmit identification information to help government security agencies and law enforcement figure out which might belong to rogue operators. DJI, a Chinese company, said in a paper released Monday that radio transmissions of an identification code, possibly the operator's Federal Aviation Administration's registration number, could help allay security concerns while also protecting the operator's privacy. The paper suggests steps that can be taken to use existing technologies to develop an identification system, and that operators could include more identification information in addition to a number if they wish. Anyone with the proper radio receiver could obtain those transmissions from the drone, but only law enforcement officials or aviation regulators would be able to use that registration number to identify the registered owner. Law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military raised security concerns last year after FAA officials proposed permitting more civilian drone flights over crowds and densely populated areas.