Artificial intelligence has become as meaningless a description of technology as "all natural" is when it refers to fresh eggs. At least, that's the conclusion reached by Devin Coldewey, a Tech Crunch contributor. AI is also often mentioned as a potential cybersecurity technology. At the recent RSA conference in San Francisco, RSA CTO Zulfikar Ramzan advised potential users to consider AI-based solutions carefully, in particular machine learning-based solutions, according to an article on CIO. AI-based tools are not as new or productive as some vendors claim, he cautioned, explaining that machine learning-based cybersecurity has been available for over a decade via spam filters, antivirus software and online fraud detection systems.

Cars with no steering wheel, no pedals and nobody at all inside could be driving themselves on California roads by the end of the year, under proposed new state rules that would give a powerful boost to the fast-developing technology. For the past several years, tech companies and automakers have been testing self-driving cars on the open road in California. But regulators insisted that those vehicles have steering wheels, foot controls and human backup drivers who could take over in an emergency. On Friday, the state department of motor vehicles proposed regulations that would open the way for truly driverless cars. Under the rules, road-testing of such vehicles could begin by the end of 2017, and a limited number could become available to customers as early as 2018 – provided the federal government gives the necessary permission.

Cars with no steering wheel, no pedals and nobody at all inside could be driving themselves on California roads by the end of the year, under proposed new state rules that would give a powerful boost to the fast-developing technology. For the past several years, tech companies and automakers have been testing self-driving cars on the open road in California. But regulators insisted that those vehicles have steering wheels, foot controls and human backup drivers who could take over in an emergency. On Friday, the state Department of Motor Vehicles proposed regulations that would open the way for truly driverless cars. Under the rules, road-testing of such vehicles could begin by the end of 2017, and a limited number could become available to customers as early as 2018 -- provided the federal government gives the necessary permission.

California is back on the map as a state that's serious about welcoming driverless cars. Truly driverless cars -- vehicles with no human behind the wheel, and perhaps no steering wheel at all -- are headed toward California streets and highways starting in 2018. After months of criticism, state regulators Friday released a proposal for a new set of regulations to govern the testing and deployment of driverless cars on public roadways. They are seeking public comment and expect approval by the end of the year. The regulations lay out "a clear path for future deployment of autonomous vehicles" in California, said Bernard Soriano, deputy director at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Cars with no steering wheel, no pedals and nobody at all inside could be driving themselves on California roads by the end of the year, under proposed new rules that would give a powerful boost to the technology from the nation's most populous state. For the past several years, tech companies and automakers have been testing self-driving cars on California's roads. But regulators insisted that those vehicles have steering wheels, foot controls and human backup drivers who could take over in an emergency. On Friday, the state Department of Motor Vehicles proposed rules that would open the way for truly driverless cars. Under the rules, testing of such cars could begin by the end of 2017, and a limited number could become available to customers as early as 2018 -- provided the federal government gives the necessary permission.

A robot might take your job. A robot might take mine. I work at the World Economic Forum, and last year some of my colleagues looked at what robots might do to jobs in 15 economies that account for two thirds of the world's workforce. Their report reckons robots will throw over 5 million people out of jobs by 2020. The world's richest man, Bill Gates, has a solution to the problems our employment Terminators will cause.

A couple of years back, Jay Ruskey, developer of the "Stak Block" -- a wonderful way to reduce a huge source of worldwide carbon emissions by turning waste rice straw into building blocks (BTW, someone needs to go and make a few million dollars selling this to the Indian government) -- told me of a conversation he had when presenting his technology in China. From the US perspective, a major selling point was that the machinery they had developed, and the newer machinery that was under development, would increasingly reduce the manpower needed in the production of Stak Blocks. The Chinese representative protested, saying, "No, no, we want more people needed to do it, not less." Where the US view was looking to more efficiency and profits, the Chinese view was looking to social stability. Last week I attended a talk given by General Stanley McChrystal at the Westmont University President's breakfast.

Microsoft has become the latest technology giant to respond to WikiLeaks' release of 8,761 documents allegedly detailing the CIA's spying methods. The files forming the enormous Vault 7 release claim that the agency was able to exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in Windows, which it used to secretly monitor users. Microsoft has encouraged customers to update to the latest version of its desktop operating system, saying that most of the vulnerabilities allegedly used by the CIA have already been patched. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar. Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo.

Stephen Hawking is concerned about the rise of artificial intelligence. Physicist Stephen Hawking may be a proponent of artificial intelligence, but he has also been outspoken about the potential challenges it creates. In a recent interview, he sounded a similar tone, and offered a solution that conservatives may find hard to accept. Speaking to The Times of London to commemorate being awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of London, a title that was conferred on him on Monday, Professor Hawking expressed optimism for the future. He added, however, that he is concerned about artificial intelligence (AI), as well as other global threats.

The revelation through Wikileaks that the CIA has explored hacking vehicle computer control systems should concern consumers, particularly as more and more cars and trucks roll off assembly lines with autonomous features. "I think it's a legitimate concern considering all of the computers being added to cars," said Kit Walsh, a staff attorney with the privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "There's no reason the CIA or other intelligence agencies or bad actors couldn't use those vulnerabilities to hurt people. "The risk is greater is you're trusting a self-driving vehicle," Walsh said. WikiLeaks this week released more than 8,700 documents it claimed came from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence; some of the leaks indicated the intelligence agency had looked at exploiting security vulnerabilities in smartphones, smart TVs, and vehicle computer systems. "As of October 2014, the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks," the Wikileaks post stated. "The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations." WikiLeaks also linked to meeting notes from 2014 listing "potential mission areas" for the CIA's Embedded Devices Branch. The notes included references to "Vehicle Systems" and "QNX," which is Blackberry's automotive software platform for telematics and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. Increasingly, automakers have been adopting QNX. In 2016, for example, Ford announced it was dropping Microsoft as the platform for its SYNC infotainment system and adopting QNX instead. Ford's new SYNC 3, using QNX, was rolled out in new vehicles last summer. Automakers have also been enabling over-the-air software updates for vehicles that could allow malicious code to be uploaded to on-board computer systems. The role of the U.S. government is to explore security vulnerabilities in order to make product manufacturers aware of potential hazards, not exploit them, Walsh said. In 2014, the Obama Administration assured Americans that a policy called the Vulnerability Equities Process (VEP) would prevent federal agencies from withholding "major" security vulnerabilities from the companies affected by them--particularly ones that could cause consumers harm. Any security holes that were exploited by security agencies are only supposed to be used in national defense. "The agencies are supposed to reveal vulnerabilities so companies can fix them and keep Americans safe.