The EU is launching an unprecedented public consultation today to find out what Europeans fear most about the future of the internet. A succession of surveys over the coming weeks will ask people for their views on everything from privacy and security to artificial intelligence, net neutrality, big data and the impact of the digital world on jobs, health, government and democracy. A dozen leading European publications, including the Guardian, are to publicise the surveys over the coming three weeks. Results will be compiled in early June. Readers can complete the first questionnaire here.

A device that can read people's minds by detecting their brainwaves has been developed in a breakthrough that could eventually enable people with "locked-in syndrome" to communicate. The system was only partially effective with a 90 per cent success rate when trying to recognise numbers from zero to nine and a 61 per cent rate for single syllables in Japanese, the researchers said. But, nonetheless, a statement about the research issued by the Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan said it showed that an effective device to read people's thoughts and relay them to others was possible in the "near future". They even suggested an "easily operated" device with a smartphone app could be ready in just five years. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to monitor people's brain waves while they spoke.

Some of the most promising and popular software applications are built in the Pacific Northwest. That much is evident from our nominees for the App of the Year category in the GeekWire Awards, which kicked off online voting today. This year's nominees range from tech giants trying to improve enterprise communication to university researchers trying to revolutionize health screening. Last year's winner was Bellevue-based OfferUp. Finalists for 2017 include Microsoft Teams; Mighty AI; RIPL; Shyft Technologies; and Senosis Health.

Google has been forced to open up Android to rival search engines and applications in Russia, after settling a two-year battle with competition authorities for 439m roubles (£6.2m). The deal sets a new precedent for Google, which until now has resisted permitting the pre-installation of rival search engines and certain applications on to the world's most popular operating system. In 2015, Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) ruled that the Android-maker was breaking the law and abusing its dominant position through restrictions on third-party manufacturers, fining Google 438m rubles (£6.2m) in August 2016. The FAS said that Google will no longer demand exclusivity of its applications on Android devices sold in Russia and will not restrict the pre-installation of rival search engines and other applications. Google will also develop a tool allowing users to choose the default search engine on new and existing Android devices, a similar measure put in place by Microsoft for browser choice on Windows following antitrust action by the European Commission.

Later today, an Atlas V rocket will blast off to the International Space Station bearing 7,600-odd pounds of food, water and other sundries to the astronauts on board. Nearly a third of that weight is equipment for science that furthers NASA's ability to explore space: a capsule that records how spacecraft break up on re-entry, an experiment that tests how fires behave in microgravity, a shiny new LED-powered plant growing habitat. But also tucked into the spacecraft's cargo hold are 38 CubeSats, diminutive satellites that are cheaper and easier to assemble than the behemoths rockets usually take into orbit. The ISS is a major launch platform for CubeSats--it has ejected more than 100 small payloads from companies and universities into orbit in the past few years. Those small sats will rely on new launch providers when the ISS retires in less than a decade. But this launch, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will be business as usual; you can watch the livestream (now also in glorious 3D!) when it starts at 10 am Eastern, with the launch scheduled for 11:11 am.

AMSTERDAM– On March 25, the European Union celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which gave birth to the European Economic Community and set the stage for the EU's creation. Like any birthday, it was an opportunity not just to celebrate, but also to consider what has been achieved – and what must change. At a time when member countries are increasingly pulling away from the EU – and the United Kingdom is actually leaving – the need for reform is clear. Discussions about how to bring the European Council, Commission, and Parliament closer to EU citizens, thereby closing Europe's "democratic deficit," are frequent and animated. But another institution that could benefit from more input from EU citizens is often left out of these discussions: the European Court of Justice.

The consequences of non-compliance can be crippling for organisations, from losing customer trust to paying hefty fines. Next summer, organisations will need to comply with a new set of EU regulations that aim to ensure good practice when collecting and analysing consumer data. Profit has well and truly shifted from product to digital information – in other words, data is power. The need to protect individual data is becoming more important, especially in light of cybersecurity breaches and targeted advertising. The new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) represents the most important change to data privacy in 20 years, but how can businesses prepare for enforcement, and how will it impact data analysis?

David Mitchell pulls into the parking lot of the Desert Research Institute, an environmental science outpost of the University of Nevada, perched in the dry red hills above Reno. On this morning, wispy cirrus clouds draw long lines above the range. Mitchell, a lanky, soft-spoken atmospheric physicist, believes these frigid clouds in the upper troposphere may offer one of our best fallback plans for combating climate change. But Mitchell, an associate research professor at the institute, thinks there might be a way to counteract the effects of these clouds. It would work like this: Fleets of large drones would crisscross the upper latitudes of the globe during winter months, sprinkling the skies with tons of extremely fine dust-like materials every year. If Mitchell is right, this would produce larger ice crystals than normal, creating thinner cirrus clouds that dissipate faster.

Last year, a strange self-driving car was released onto the quiet roads of Monmouth County, New Jersey. The experimental vehicle, developed by researchers at the chip maker Nvidia, didn't look different from other autonomous cars, but it was unlike anything demonstrated by Google, Tesla, or General Motors, and it showed the rising power of artificial intelligence. The car didn't follow a single instruction provided by an engineer or programmer. Instead, it relied entirely on an algorithm that had taught itself to drive by watching a human do it. Getting a car to drive this way was an impressive feat. But it's also a bit unsettling, since it isn't completely clear how the car makes its decisions.

Think of the ancient art of Kung Fu, and you may not immediately see a link with cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence. But a Hong Kong-based start-up is combining traditional methods of learning the Chinese martial art with AI technology that analyses the speed and strength of your punches and provides personalised, professional advice to hone your technique. "We chose Hong Kong to start our business as the city is rich in Kung Fu culture and we would like to revive Kung Fu by using AI technology," said Thomas Yu, the founder of JabJabX, an app that stores and analyses data in order to help users hone their technique. "Rather than pure observation, big data analysis can tell you your speed and strength as you learn Kung Fu, and provides more personalised advice." JabJabX is now in a "testing stage", but has drawn the interest of potential investors, said Yu, who won the Big Data for Business (B4B) Challenge organised by Cyberport in Hong Kong and Innobator in Shanghai.