The Dallas police's use of a robot to kill a man suspected of shooting police officers may have been the first time U.S. law enforcement intentionally used a robot lethally, two security researchers said Friday. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Friday that officers decided to use a bomb-disposal robot jury-rigged with explosives after negotiating with the suspect for several hours and then exchanging gunfire with him.

Negotiators had been talking for hours with the hunkered-down killer of five police officers in downtown Dallas when the man suddenly resumed firing with an assault rifle. Fearing additional casualties, the officers deployed a small, remote-controlled robot to carry an explosive device near shooter Micah Xavier Johnson, which they then detonated, killing him. "We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was," Police Chief David Brown said at a news conference Friday morning. "Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger .… We have confirmed that he's been deceased because of the detonation of the bomb."

As the convoy traveled down Interstate 69, regular Michigan motorists might have not believed they were driving next to the future of warfare. But for all their humdrum khaki looks, these were platooning, semi-autonomous army trucks, moving as one organism. Late last month, the army dropped these four beta trucks into real Michigan traffic, with human drivers aboard as backups. Over seven miles, the vehicles used cameras and LIDAR to watch the road. They used dedicated short-range radio, also known as vehicle-to-vehicle communication, to chat with each other and even with infrastructure Michigan's DOT installed for the purpose, getting advance notice of things like changing speed limits and closed lanes ahead.

In this still image from video provided by NBC DFW, police officers salute their fallen peers outside Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where several officers were transported after shootings at a protest late Thursday, July 7, 2016. Five Dallas police officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded during a protest over the deaths of black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In this still image from video provided by NBC DFW, police officers salute their fallen peers outside Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where several officers were transported after shootings at a protest late Thursday, July 7, 2016. Five Dallas police officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded during a protest over the deaths of black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. John Fife hands a police officer guarding Jack Evans Police Headquarters a rose in Dallas on Friday July 8, 2016. Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. Investigators leave the home of Micah Xavier Johnson in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, Texas, Friday, July 8, 2016. A Texas law enforcement official identified Johnson, 25, as the sniper who opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. Dallas police respond after shots were fired during a protest over recent fatal shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Dallas. Snipers opened fire on police officers during protests; several officers were killed, police said.

As a part of this initiative, the Federal Government is working to leverage AI for public good and to aid in promoting more effective government. OSTP is in the process of co-hosting four public workshops in 2016 on topics in AI in order to spur public dialogue on these topics and to identify challenges and opportunities related to this emerging technology. These topics include the legal and governance issues for AI, AI for public good, safety and control for AI, and the social and economic implications of AI. A new National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence has also been established. This group will monitor state-of-the-art advances and technology milestones in artificial intelligence and machine learning within the Federal Government, in the private sector, and internationally, as well as help coordinate Federal activity in this space.

It sounds like the stuff of science-fiction; computer-based systems that can learn behavior pattern and make predictions about future incidents in both the physical and virtual world. After all, just mentioning the term "artificial intelligence" typically conjures up thoughts of machines becoming self-aware and annihilating humankind vis-a-vis "The Terminator." But while some may brush off the idea that security systems leveraging artificial intelligence or AI, for short, will ever come to fruition, the reality is they are already being implemented in a variety of applications. Just last month, Armorway, which has patented an artificial intelligence platform that combines a variety of analytics with cognitive intelligence and deep machine learning, announced that it has received 2.5 million in funding from a variety of investors. The company, which has received support in the past from the University of Southern California, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and U.S. Army Research Office, said the money will help further develop its AI and prescriptive analytics solutions.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

The technical potential for automation differs dramatically across sectors and activities. As automation technologies such as machine learning and robotics play an increasingly great role in everyday life, their potential effect on the workplace has, unsurprisingly, become a major focus of research and public concern. The discussion tends toward a Manichean guessing game: which jobs will or won't be replaced by machines? In fact, as our research has begun to show, the story is more nuanced. While automation will eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next decade, it will affect portions of almost all jobs to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the type of work they entail. Automation, now going beyond routine manufacturing activities, has the potential, as least with regard to its technical feasibility, to transform sectors such as healthcare and finance, which involve a substantial share of knowledge work. These conclusions rest on our detailed analysis of 2,000-plus work activities for more than 800 occupations.

Police used a "bomb robot" early Friday to kill a gunman who fatally shot five police officers and wounded seven others in downtown Dallas, saying he "wanted to kill white people," officials said. The end to the standoff came several hours after a suspect began firing during a protest over recent police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana and then holed up in a garage, officials said. "We cornered one suspect and we tried to negotiate for several hours," Dallas Police Chief David Brown said during a Friday morning news conference, but "negotiations broke down" and turned into "an exchange of gunfire with the suspect." The suspect was identified as Micah X. Johnson, 25, a former Army reservist and resident of the Dallas area, two U.S. law enforcement officials said. Johnson had no known criminal history or ties to terror groups, the official said, and has relatives in Mesquite, Texas, which is just east of Dallas.The official said federal agents were assisting Dallas authorities in the investigation.

Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday night, during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday night, during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. Police and others gather at the emergency entrance to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, where several police officers were taken after shootings Thursday, July 7, 2016.. (AP Photo/Emily Schmall) A police officer looks up while standing behind a vehicle, as police responded to shots being fired during a protest over recent fatal shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Dallas. Snipers opened fire on police officers during protests; several officers were killed, police said. Dallas police respond after shots were fired during a protest over recent fatal shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Dallas. Snipers opened fire on police officers during protests; several officers were killed, police said. Dallas police respond after shots were fired during a protest over recent fatal shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Dallas. Snipers opened fire on police officers during protests; several officers were killed, police said.