President Donald Trump's executive order barring citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries has prompted nationwide protests and led tech companies, including Amazon, to consider legal action because of potential business impacts. But for some tech companies around the world, the ban has already thrown operations into chaos. "Until the executive order, we didn't really care about who's from where or what religion they were, we didn't ask, but all these things have been a distraction and worrying," said Husayn Kassai, the CEO and co-founder of London-based startup Onfido. The company, which uses artificial intelligence to help clients carry out complex background checks, boasts a 145-person staff representing 41 different nationalities. Kassai was born in Manchester, U.K., but holds dual citizenship in Iran and the U.K.

Millions around the globe may have taken to the streets in recent years to protest against the impact of globalisation on their jobs and communities - but this backlash is only likely to grow as globalisation itself becomes more disruptive. The stark warning comes from Richard Baldwin, president of the Centre for Economic Policy Research think-tank, who has been studying global trade for the past 30 years. Technological advances could now mean white-collar, office-based workers and professionals are at risk of losing their jobs, Prof Baldwin argues. In the US, voter anger with globalisation may have led to Donald Trump's election victory, but those who voted for him could be disappointed as his aim of bringing back jobs is unlikely to work, says Prof Baldwin, who also worked as an economist under President George HW Bush. Protectionist trade barriers won't work in the 21st Century, he says.

A top US general responsible for shaping the military of the future has revealed that robots could make up a quarter of the army within the next few decades. General Robert Cone said last year that the hi-tech machines will fight alongside soldiers on the battlefield by 2030 or 2040, in a bid to make the army'a smaller, more lethal, deployable and agile force'. He said modern health and safety concerns designed to keeping soldiers safe - adding armour and protection to vehicles and personnel - has caused the army to lose some of its lethal edge, but hinted that robots could revitalize its killing force. The US Army has a long-running mission to create autonomous robots - machines capable of making decisions, in real time, on the front line to changing circumstances. More than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq has allowed the public to see the huge resources already dedicated to unmanned systems; from the high-flying Global Hawk to the lethal Predator drones to hand-launched Raven.

WASHINGTON – The White House said Tuesday that no American citizen "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects, a blanket statement that appeared to signal a break from the Obama administration's strategy for pursuing and targeting suspects in counterterrorism operations overseas. Under former President Barack Obama, the Justice Department had issued a legal opinion giving the U.S. the authority to target Americans who are working with terrorists abroad. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters the Trump administration will lean on the guidance of Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, but he added that "no American citizen will ever be targeted." It was not immediately clear whether Spicer's intended to recalibrate U.S. policy. The U.S. specifically targeted and killed American Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric, in Yemen in 2011.

The 7th Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI'17, co-chaired by Sven Koenig and Eric Eaton) launched the EAAI New and Future AI Educator Program to support the training of early-career university faculty, secondary school faculty, and future educators (PhD candidates or postdocs who intend a career in academia). As part of the program, awardees were asked to address one of the following "blue sky" questions: * How could/should Artificial Intelligence (AI) courses incorporate ethics into the curriculum? * How could we teach AI topics at an early undergraduate or a secondary school level? * AI has the potential for broad impact to numerous disciplines. How could we make AI education more interdisciplinary, specifically to benefit non-engineering fields? This paper is a collection of their responses, intended to help motivate discussion around these issues in AI education.

Robots may be used to care for elderly people lacking family aid, according to a team of academics who estimated the highly advanced artificial intelligence could be available within three years, BBC News reported Monday. The international team, sponsored by the European Union and Japanese government, have begun a $2.5 million project in an attempt to develop robots capable of looking after older people. More than 1 million elderly people were lacking the daily living assistance they need, according to charity Age UK. Researchers said robots would not only help out with physical tasks, but also provide companionship with uniquely programmed, culturally sensitive personalities. "Assistive, intelligent robots for older people could relieve pressures in hospitals and care homes as well as improving care delivery at home and promoting independent living for the elderly," Professor Irena Papadopoulos, an expert in transcultural nursing, told BBC. "It is not a question of replacing human support but enhancing and complementing existing care."

An Align M690L drone flies Aug. 23, 2016, along the northbound side of the Gold Star Bridge to photograph and record video for bridge inspection in Connecticut. President Trump's order to reduce regulations on small businesses has sparked concerns in the drone industry that seeks more federal rules in order to take flight. The order Monday put a limit on each agency's regulatory ability through the annual budget, and required that the cost of any new regulations be balanced through the repeal of at least two old regulations. But flights of commercial drones have been restricted in airspace shared with passenger planes until the Federal Aviation Administration develops regulations to govern remote-controlled aircraft. The FAA's first comprehensive drone regulations took effect in August, allowing flights of drones weighing up to 55 pounds without the case-by-case review that was required previously.

Artificial intelligence has reached a new milestone, with a program beating four professional players in a poker tournament lasting 20 days. Libratus, an AI program developed by a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, took on Dong Kim, Jimmy Chou, Daniel McAulay and Jason Les at no-limit Texas Hold'em in a Pittsburgh casino, eventually taking $1.76 million (£1.4 million) in chips. It's been hailed as a milestone for AI, with Libratus co-creator Tuomas Sandholm declaring, "The best AI's ability to do strategic reasoning with imperfect information has now surpassed that of the best humans." Boston Dynamics describes itself as'building dynamic robots and software for human simulation'. It has created robots for DARPA, the US' military research company Deep Blue, a computer created by IBM, won a match against world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. Apple's virtual assistant for iPhone, Siri, uses artificial intelligence technology to anticipate users' needs and give cheeky reactions Xbox's Kinect uses artificial intelligence to predict where players are likely to go, an track their movement more accurately Its human opponents had been sharing notes in an effort to expose Libratus' weaknesses, but the AI grew stronger as the tournament went on.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its requirements for flying drones that weigh under 55 pounds. The rules state that the pilot must keep the drone in sight at all times, not exceed 100 miles per hour, and operate the drone only during daylight hours. Pilots must also report accidents that result in an injury. While the list of rules for operating a drone is long and detailed (read the whole thing here), the requirements for becoming a drone pilot are relatively simple. You need to be at least 16 years old.

President Donald Trump's executive order related to travel from seven majority-Muslim countries has sparked confusion and outrage. Protesters and business leaders alike have expressed concern over how the order would affect the country going forward, and the video game industry has plenty of criticism, too. Yesterday, the Entertainment Software Association, which represents the video game industry in Washington, issued a press release cautiously criticizing the order, recognizing a need for security but underscoring the importance of immigrant workers in the gaming industry. The ESA represents most of the biggest names in the games industry, including Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, EA and Activision Blizzard. The Entertainment Software Association urges the White House to exercise caution with regard to vital immigration and foreign worker programs.