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. Pictured, Sophie Li, of Cupertino, Calif., offers to dance with a K5 robot made by Knightscope, Inc., at Westfield Valley Fair shopping center in San Jose'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 has warned that competition for superiority in the world of artificial intelligence could trigger World War III. His tweet followed a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin that "artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind … It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world." Musk said he was less concerned about the threat of a nuclear missile strike from North Korea, and said any such action would be "suicide". Musk has long since been a vocal opponent of lethal autonomous weapons.

Forget the arms race or space race -- the new battle for technological dominance revolves around AI, according to Vladimir Putin. The Russian President told students at a career guidance forum that the "future belongs to artificial intelligence," and whoever is first to dominate this category will be the "ruler of the world." In other words, Russia fully intends to be a frontrunner in the AI space. Putin maintains that he doesn't want to see anyone "monopolize" the field, and that Russia would share its knowledge with the "entire world" in the same way it shares its nuclear tech. We'd take this claim with a grain of salt (we wouldn't be surprised if Russia held security-related AI secrets close to the vest), but this does suggest that the country might share some of what it learns.

Which naturally leads to: whose ethical and social values? What biases do we build in – intentionally or otherwise – that will affect the output? Each individual, socio-cultural group, and national geography can have different attitudes to ethics, morality and legality. This is further complicated by the choice of data used to train AI systems. Even the best-laid intentions can go awry if the data itself breaks our ethical standards.

Self driving cars are only the beginning. Within a couple decades, most anything with wheels, wings, or rotors will be able to operate, not just on its own, but in concert with hundreds or thousands of similarly self-guided vehicles around it. This won't just revolutionize how current transportation systems operate, it will open up entirely new roles for unmanned vehicles -- especially aircraft. In fact, the roles of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in military applications is continually evolving. Originally developed just after WWII as self-flying targets, UAVs today perform a variety of roles, from intelligence gathering and reconnaissance to strike missions.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has joined the war of words concerning the international race to develop artificial intelligence. Speaking to students last Friday, Putin predicted that whichever country leads the way in AI research will come to dominate global affairs. "Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind," said Putin, reports RT. "It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world."

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday (Sept. AI development "raises colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now," Putin said in a lecture to students, warning that "it would be strongly undesirable if someone wins a monopolist position." Future wars will be fought by autonomous drones, Putin suggested, and "when one party's drones are destroyed by drones of another, it will have no other choice but to surrender." U.N. urged to address lethal autonomous weapons AI experts worldwide are also concerned. On August 20, 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies from 26 countries, including Elon Musk and Google DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman, signed an open letter asking the United Nations to "urgently address the challenge of lethal autonomous weapons (often called'killer robots') and ban their use internationally."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sounded off about artificial intelligence in front of students during an open lesson Friday. He claimed that a nation who dominated the AI race could rule the world. Tech icon Elon Musk responded to Putin's claim Monday morning via suggesting that AI could start World War III. Putin posited that the country that harnessed the power of artificial intelligence could lead the way in global affairs. He said that AI offered limitless potential which could pose potential threats.

Japan Post Co. said Monday it is considering using drones to move packages between post offices, possibly from next year, due to an increasing shortage of delivery workers. The envisioned project by the mail and package delivery unit of state-owned Japan Post Holdings Co. comes in the wake of e-commerce operator Rakuten Inc. and major parcel delivery provider Yamato Holdings Co. testing drone deliveries, but safety concerns remain about the new delivery method. Japan Post is considering using drones in step with the government's pro-growth plan under which drone use is eyed for parcel delivery in mountainous regions in 2018 and in urban areas in the 2020s. "We are aiming to fly drones between post offices in mountainous areas and remote islands," Japan Post Executive Vice President Seiki Fukuda said at a news conference Monday. In order for drone delivery to be put to practical use, Fukuda said, "how far regulations will be loosened" will be important.

It is one of the toughest places to live on Earth. Now, a six-strong team of astronauts is preparing to head to the Dhofar desert in Oman next year in an attempt to simulate what life will be like on Mars. The astronauts are using the trial as a'dress rehearsal' for future missions to the red planet, and will carry out 19 experiments designed to search for traces of life. In February 2018, They will spend four weeks living in almost complete isolation. Among the scientific equipment they will take with them for the Amadee-18 experiment will be a a drone, robotic rovers and a hydroponic greenhouse.