Octavia Butler, who died in 2006, was the author of such visionary science fiction novels as Kindred, The Parable of the Sower, and Dawn. Gerry Canavan, who just published a book-length study of Butler, describes her as one of the greatest writers of her era. "I think you'd put her up there with Philip K. Dick and Le Guin and Delany and these other people who really made an impact on the way that science fiction circulates," Canavan says in Episode 234 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "Especially that mode of literary science fiction that's somewhere in the middle between genre fiction and prize-winning novels, she has to be top two, top three in that list." Butler made headlines this year when fans noted that her 1998 novel The Parable of the Talents features a fascist politician who rises to power by promising to "make America great again."

Debra Wong Yang, a potential candidate to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Trump administration, said that Yang was appointed to California's Central District court in 2002. She was appointed to lead the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. Self-driving cars: In the Dec. 16 Business section, an article about Uber's self-driving car program identified Steve Beck as co-founder of the management consultancy cg42. Beck is the sole founder. If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times' journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Deirdre Edgar, readers' representative, by email at readers.representative@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax at (213) 237-3535 or by mail at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

When we examine and value companies, we use a lens that is more than five hundred years old. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which dates back to a Venetian Friar who lived in 1500 AD, has long been the determinant of what we how society measures value. According to this now global standard, things and money are valuable assets. People and ideas, and their development, are expenses. This means that investments such as education, healthcare, training, and research actually eat away at value creation.

As we look to a New Year, it is hard to say what 2017 has in store thanks to the level of uncertainty that 2016 leaves in its wake. One thing for certain, however, is that 2017 is set to be an eventful and thrilling ride for FinTech with many factors and potential obstacles on the horizon which still challenge the sector. In today's society people are effectively running their whole lives from their mobiles: reading the news, online banking, heating their home and maintaining relationships. Payments are a part of that so it is expected that the numbers to climb further next year. Smartphone sales are reaching saturation point in developed markets, and the growth of technology adoption today are now firmly fixated on emerging and developing nations.

As artificial intelligence advances, the possibility that machines could independently select and fire on targets is fast approaching. Fully autonomous weapons, also known as'killer robots,' are quickly moving from the realm of science fiction( like the plot of Terminator) toward reality WILL ROBOTS GET AWAY WITH WAR CRIMES? The robo-security guard that hunts intruders using LASERS:... Are robots coming for YOUR job? Droid workers are showing up... Rise of the robots: Mechanical monks, sci-fi bots and... Robots are coming for you and your job: Experts discuss the... The robo-security guard that hunts intruders using LASERS:... Are robots coming for YOUR job?

The 132ft-long (40-metre) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface without a crew. The ship's projected $20 million (£14.2 million) price tag and its $20,000 (£14,300) daily operating cost make it relatively inexpensive for the navy Hyperloop-inspired TRAIN could be ready next year:... Look up tonight! A stunning meteor shower will light up... World's oldest example of human cancer found in 1.7... Astronauts are FIVE times more likely to die from heart... Hyperloop-inspired TRAIN could be ready next year:... Look up tonight! A stunning meteor shower will light up... World's oldest example of human cancer found in 1.7... Astronauts are FIVE times more likely to die from heart... The vessel was unveiled by Deputy US Defense Secretary Robert Work and has been developed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).

California is the first state to adopt efficiency standards for computers and monitors, the state's energy commission announced this week. The commission approved regulations that limit the amount of energy computers and small servers can use when they are idling, asleep or turned off. The regulations for monitors will also limit the amount of energy the apparatus uses when it is turned on. "It's common sense that electronic equipment ought to consume a minimal amount of energy when it is not being used," energy commissioner Andrew McAllister said in a statement. The commission estimates computers and monitors in the state use more than 5,600 gigawatts-hours of electricity.

Facebook celebrated the first full test flight of its solar-powered internet drone, Aquila, in July, but things didn't go as smoothly as they could have. The drone completed a 96-minute flight in Yuma, Arizona, but it ended up crash-landing because of a structural failure in the right wing, according to today's report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB announced in November that it would investigate the accident. Aquila's only landing mode is "autoland," meaning the aircraft senses things like wind speeds and temperature, and adjusts for the smoothest landing possible. During its debut test flight, operators expected wind speeds of 7 knots.

Many current fears around AI and automation center around the idea that superintelligence could somehow "take over," turning streets around the globe into scenes from The Terminator. While there is much to be gained from discussing the safe development of AI, there's another more imminent danger: Autonomous weapons. On Friday, after three years of negotiations, the UN unanimously agreed to take action. At the Fifth Review Conference of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, countries around the world agreed to begin formal discussions--which will take place for two weeks at the 2017 UN convention in Geneva--on a possible ban of lethal, autonomous weapons. Talks will begin in April or August, and 88 countries have agreed to attend.

The year of AI: Major developments in 2016 could pave the way for a future where'intelligent machines are omnipresent in our daily lives' Artificial intelligence or AI is getting a foothold in people's homes, starting with the Amazon devices like its Echo speaker (pictured) which links to a personal assistant'Alexa' to answer questions and control connected devices such as appliances or light bulbs Donald Trump claims torture ¿works¿ ¿ but what does the... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... Facebook Messenger launches an in-app camera and... The shoes that will tell you if you're too tired to run:... Donald Trump claims torture ¿works¿ ¿ but what does the... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... Facebook Messenger launches an in-app camera and... The shoes that will tell you if you're too tired to run:... Analyst Carolina Milanesi of the research firm Creative Strategies said that '2016 was the year about raising awareness, and exposing consumers to the idea of AI in a more mass market way.' Google Home (pictured) is the small speaker will be able to play music and access Google Assistant, a new AI system the search giant unveiled at I/O in May. It's believed Apple has been working on their smart-home device for at least 2 years The first virtual family portrait: Mark Zuckerberg showed off the firm's software for the Oculus Rift headset at the Oculus Connect conference in San Francisco. Tragic video shows a man filming himself smoking Ice Amir Khan's wife Faryal was called'Michael Jackson' by family Epic fight!