As Washington fiddles, China is investing billions in U.S. startups with cutting-edge products that could have military applications at the same time it is dialing back investments in less critical American industries such as entertainment. A New York Times story this week says that among the startups are companies working on artificial intelligence for military robots, rocket engines, ship sensors and printers that could produce high-tech components such as computer screens for military jets. Many of the firms making such investments are owned by companies controlled by the Chinese government or connected to its leaders. A blog post last December on the website of CB Insights, which tracks startup investments, says that China poured $9.9 billion into new Silicon Valley firms in 2015 and made an additional $3.5 billion in tech investments in the first nine months of last year. The number and size of those tech investments in startups developing military applications were not broken out.

Mnuchin went on to clarify his comment a bit, noting that he doesn't think self-driving cars use artificial intelligence because "that's computers and using real technology we have today." It's a comment that shows his understanding of machine learning and AI to be rather short-sighted and outdated. Mnuchin said that he is thinking more about robots taking people's jobs, invoking the R2-D2 droid from Star Wars, saying that a self-driving car network is "very different from artificial, you know, R2-D2 taking over your job." Overall, he said he's "not at all" worried about robots or AI displacing jobs in the short term. "in fact, I'm optimistic," he said, referring to the potential of technology to help "create productivity."

More than a third of U.S. jobs could be at "high risk" of automation by the early 2030s, a percentage that's greater than in Britain, Germany and Japan, according to a report released Friday. The analysis by accounting and consulting firm PwC focused primarily on the economic outlook in Britain, but it included a section on automation in Britain and elsewhere. In the U.S., 38% of jobs could be at risk of automation, compared with 30% in Britain, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan. The report emphasizes that these estimates are based on the anticipated capabilities of robotics and artificial intelligence by the early 2030s, and that the pace and direction of technological progress are "uncertain." The key issue is not that the U.S. has more jobs in sectors that are universally ripe for automation, the report says; rather, it's that more U.S. jobs in certain sectors are potentially vulnerable than, say, British jobs in the same sectors.

The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is to open in San Francisco on Friday. SAN FRANCISCO -- The World Economic Forum opens the doors Friday to a new outpost focusing on ways in which science and technology can positively impact society. The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution aims to reshape industries, challenge regulatory frameworks and redefine "what it means to be a human," Murat Sönmez, a member of the World Economic Forum Managing Board and head of the new center, said in a statement. "We need to urgently develop policy norms and frameworks and apply these innovations to ensure their benefits affect us all," said Sonmez, pointing to jobs of the future, artificial intelligence and ethics, national digital policies, cross border data flows, civil drones, and autonomous vehicles and the environment. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) were planning to open the center at San Francisco's Presidio and play host to more than 120 dignitaries, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland, University of California at Berkeley President Nicholas Dirks, start-up founders, venture capitalists, and participants from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey and the UK.

Over the past few weeks I casually asked several climate-informed colleagues what questions, claims, or myths do they hear most often from friends, family, or random people. I call these "zombie" theories because they have often been refuted but live on in social media, other outlets, and so forth. Here are the top 20 that emerged. In this image provided by the National Snow and Ice Data Center and NASA, shows how low sea ice levels were in the Arctic this winter, alarming climate scientists. During the winter, Arctic sea ice grew to 5.57 million square miles (14.42 million square kilometers) at its peak, but that's the smallest amount of winter sea ice in 38 years of record keeping, beating the record set in 2015 and tied last year.

British workers could face difficult competition in the workplace with the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new report published Friday from the accounting professional service PwC. The study revealed robotics and AI could affect nearly 30 percent of U.K. jobs by the 2030s, compared to 38 percent in the U.S., 35 percent in Germany and 21 percent in Japan. Jobs most at risk to be replaced by automation in the study included transportation, manufacturing and wholesale and retail, the Independent reported. Social workers, teachers and medical employees were less at risk. The study also estimated that an increase in automation would affect men more than women, especially men with a lower level of education, who PwC said the government should help by training those lesser-skilled workers in the next 10 to 20 years.

In the last few years, artificial intelligence has quickly broken beyond the realm of science fiction. In fact, IBM -- the creator of the AI powerhouse Watson -- predicts that the AI market will catapult to $2 trillion in the next decade. Nearly every industry on the planet stands to benefit from AI's increased use. But make no mistake, few will see a larger boost than the business of corporate accounting. Senior analyst Jonathan Rodriguez explains why below.

It's the most cunning robocall scam I've encountered -- and the fact that I've fallen for it more than once tells you how successful it can be. You pick it up and say "hello." There's a brief silence and then a woman's voice says, "Oh, hi there!" She offers an embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry, I was having a little trouble with my headset!"

With construction costs that could reach $21 billion, President Donald Trump's "big beautiful wall" along the U.S.-Mexico border has enticed scores of construction firms and contractors to file proposals to get a piece of that business. Quanergy, a Silicon Valley startup that makes laser LiDAR sensors and a rising star in the world of automated car technology is one of the more curious applicants. Its interest in the Customs and Border Protection project was reported first by Axios. The Sunnyvale, California-based company registered an "other border wall" proposal, but the long vendors list doesn't detail Quanergy's idea. That "other" category is for any wall proposal that doesn't use concrete and that can be shown to be an effective option, a CPB spokesman explained to Forbes.

More and more companies are putting drones to work, including tech giants, manufacturers, utilities, and news organizations. With a broad range of practical applications and rapidly evolving technology, drones offer huge untapped potential, but not every market offers equal opportunities for growth. Here are seven facts and forecasts to know before investing. The demand for drones in the U.S. is projected to rise 10% annually to $4.4 billion in 2020, and the number of vehicles sold will more than double to 5.5 million. Drones sold to commercial and consumer users can cost less than $100 on the low end for toy drones to $10,000 or more on the high end for professional drones with sophisticated sensors and controls. Civilian markets are in the early stages of development, and over the next decade sales are expected to grow at explosive rates, similar to those posted by smartphones following the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.