Back in May, Google announced the launch of their Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab: a collaboration with Nasa to "study how quantum computing might advance machine learning." Now, after months of secrecy the search giant has released a video offering a tantalising introduction to the lab and the questions it might one day ask. As the video above says "quantum physics puts everything into question", and if you're expecting quick answers (either from the 6 minute film or from the lab itself) then you will be disappointed. Quantum computing is incredibly difficult, incredibly exciting, and incredibly strange. In the most simplistic terms we can think of normal computers as operating only using 1s and 0s in an either/or state. Quantum computers still use 1s and 0s but they do so in superposition, meaning that the symbols can be both 1 and 0 at the same time as well as every state in between the two.

The International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS) is the premier forum for researchers and practitioners in planning and scheduling - two technologies that are critical to manufacturing, space systems, software engineering, robotics, education, and entertainment. The ICAPS conference resulted from merging two bi-annual conferences, namely the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Planning and Scheduling (AIPS) and the European Conference on Planning (ECP). The primary objectives of ICAPS are to further the field of automated planning and scheduling through the organization of technical meetings, including the annual ICAPS conference, through the organization of summer schools, tutorials and training activities at various events, through the organization of planning and scheduling competitions, benchmarking and other means of advancing and assessing the state of the art in the field, by promoting the involvement of young scientists in the field through scholarships and other means, and by promoting and disseminating publications, planning and scheduling systems, domains, simulators, software tools and technical material. The ICAPS 2016 conference was held from June 12-17, 2016 in London, UK. Conference chairs are Andrew Coles and Daniele Magazzeni.

NASA is investing in a fleet of robotic probes that could soon explore Jupiter, Saturn and other interstellar bodies made of gas by flying with momentum from the wind. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been awarded $100,000 to complete a study that will explore the possibility of "windbots" buzzing through the atmospheres above Jupiter and Saturn. To work, each drone would need to be self-sufficient and able to recharge based on wind and changes in temperature. The news was first reported Thursday by Wired magazine. "One could imagine a network of windbots existing for quite a long time on Jupiter or Saturn, sending information about ever-changing weather patterns," Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Adrian Stoica told Wired.

"Open the pod bay doors please, Hal." "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that." So said the sentient computer HAL at the controls of the Discovery One spacecraft to astronaut Dave Bowman in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick classic, "2001: A Space Oddyssey." While computer-versus-human conflict has been foreseen in many films since then, a leading artificial intelligence researcher is now making the case that we need to start planning for the day that artificial intelligence combined with lethal capabilities will pose a real challenge to humanity. Roman V. Yampolskiy, a respected artificial intelligence researcher and the director of the Cybersecurity Laboratory at the University of Louisville, is the author of a new study, "Taxonomy of Pathways to Dangerous AI," due to be presented for the first time Saturday at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence conference in Phoenix, Arizona. His paper is an attempt to spark a serious, intellectual discussion what controls humans can put on machines that don't exist yet.

The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals 2014 has announced Google's SCHAFT robot will compete in the self-funded track. This move frees up funding for two more teams to the DRC Finals 2014, while a third team will compete as part of the self-funded track D. On March 21, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Google's SCHAFT robot will switch to the unfunded Track D for the DRC Finals 2014, which allows for two more teams to compete in the robotics challenge. The robotics teams will compete for a grand prize of $2 million. Team THOR will use the DARPA funds, up to $500,000 for each team, to continue work on the Tactical Harzardous Operations Robot (THOR) at two universities. One team will continue work on THOR at the University of California Los Angeles while a second team will be stationed at the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at Virginia Tech.

Currently, this process is much too slow and too labor-intensive, particularly if the documents are handwritten. We are looking to the Shredder Challenge to generate some leap-ahead thinking in this area.

We've already heard about Google's somewhat controversial autonomous vehicle test program which began two years ago using Toyota Prii and other vehicles. It appears now that yet another hybrid has been added to the driverless vehicle list. Said hybrid is a cousin to the Prius, the Lexus RX450h, and it was reportedly spotted traveling along a Southern California Freeway with the autonomous testing gear mounted atop its roof. The sighting comes just days after the California Senate passed Bill 1298, which enables the California Highway Patrol to set standards and performance requirements relating to autonomous vehicle testing. The picture also indicates the testing apparatus has been somewhat modified since earlier tests.

It is small because it is not on the radar of most leaders today, not even as a potential threat of the future. What worries leaders is the economy in Europe and the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine involving Russia. What worries leaders is global warming, quantitative easing or China's rise as a superpower. At this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave an address on global responsibilities in a digital age. But the digital referred to privacy, not artificial intelligence.

First off, a military robot called Atlas could soon get a skin graft -- all over its mechanical body. Atlas weighs about 180 pounds and stands just under six feet tall, and is funded by DARPA. It's intended to be an emergency response, humanoid-like robot. In a recent paper at Science magazine, engineers at Cornell University and the Italian Institute of Technology unveiled their newest creation -- robotic "skin" that can stretch, glow, and change color. The new tech is based on capabilities found in nature, like in octopi, and could make Atlas look more human, or more terrifying.

The Atlas robot looks something out of the post-apocalyptic future, or maybe a Will Smith blockbuster. It's a 330lb cyborg with eerily human-like hands and a head equipped with a laser. This bot will be a first responder in times of crisis, says the Pentagon – it's designed to use tools and trudge through difficult terrain, heading into smoky, dangerous areas that humans can't. With its human capabilities it could also, not coincidentally, be a good soldier. This robot – named Atlas after the Greek mythological hero who supported the world on his back – is part of the Pentagon's quest to create a humanoid robot that can do everything from turning knobs in nuclear plants to driving a car.