Infrastructure investment is on the forefront of political agendas around the world. From the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) spearheaded by China to the pro-infrastructure themes that united an otherwise divisive presidential campaign in the United States, the policy focus is on transportation, telecommunications, utilities and so on around us. The expected surge in such infrastructure projects is estimated to fill a gap of $8 trillion across Asia alone, and around $1 trillion in the U.S. But this policy spotlight must also now be lifted above us to outer space, where newspace industries are building, extending and connecting a space-based infrastructure to the planet as never before. Newspace is taking it another step forward, transforming the prospects for the economics, societal and national security domains.

According to a set of intelligent humans interviewed for this story, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are going to help drive the tech economy in 2017. When CIO.com posted a query on Help a Reporter Out, a site designed to help journalists connect with sources, asking about startup trends to watch in 2017, the overwhelming majority of respondents pointed to AI. This coming year and beyond, AI will help companies "disrupt sectors that haven't been fully disrupted," says Anthony Glomski, principal of AG Asset Advisory, a financial advisory firm. "AI is in its beginning stages with massive potential impact." Here are eight startup categories and trends experts believe will be big in 2017.

Robotic weapons have become so advanced that top military experts in the US fear the plot of the sci-fi film'Terminator' could come true. Huge technological leaps forward in drones, artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems must be addressed before humanity is driven to extinction by mechanical overlords like in the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, according to Pentagon chiefs. Air Force General Paul Selva, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the US Defense Department, said so-called thinking weapons could lead to: "Robotic systems to do lethal harm... a Terminator without a conscience." When asked about robotic weapons able to make their own decisions, he said: "Our job is to defeat the enemy" but "it is governed by law and by convention." He says the military insists on keeping humans in the decision-making process to "inflict violence on the enemy". "That ethical boundary is the one we've draw a pretty fine line on.

COLUMBUS, OHIO – A Somali-born student who carried out a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University might have been inspired by the Islamic State group and a former al-Qaida leader, investigators said Wednesday. Law enforcement officials said that it's too soon to say the rampage that hurt 11 people on Monday was terrorism. They said they aren't aware of any direct contact between the Islamic State group and the attacker, Ohio State student Abdul Razak Ali Artan. "We only believe he may have been inspired" by the group, said Angela Byers, the top FBI agent overseeing federal investigations in the southern half of Ohio. Artan also might have been influenced by Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who took a leadership role in al-Qaida before being killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike in Yemen, Byers said.

Amazon today announced three new artificial intelligence-related toolkits for developers building apps on Amazon Web Services. At the company's AWS re:invent conference in Las Vegas, Amazon showed how developers can use three new services -- Amazon Lex, Amazon Polly, Amazon Rekognition -- to build artificial intelligence features into apps for platforms like Slack, Facebook Messenger, ZenDesk, and others. The idea is to let developers utilize the machine learning algorithms and technology that Amazon has already created for its own processes and services like Alexa. Instead of developing their own AI software, AWS customers can simply use an API call or the AWS Management Console to incorporate AI features into their own apps. AWS CEO Andy Jassy noted that Amazon has been building AI and machine learning technology for 20 years and said that there are now thousands of people "dedicated to AI in our business."

Cylance Inc., the company that is revolutionising cybersecurity with the practical application of artificial intelligence to prevent the most advanced cyber threats, today announced that it has selected Arrow Electronics, Inc. as its distributor in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). This year, Cylance announced its initial launch into Australia to service market growth across Asia Pacific. Arrow will support Cylance in expanding its regional footprint and providing customers with cyberattack prevention technology where traditional anti-virus software has failed. According to Andy Solterbeck, vice president of Cylance Asia Pacific, Arrow was selected because of its extensive security experience and credentials in the local region. "We are excited to work with Arrow as a distributor that is recognised for its proven track record of releasing highly disruptive technologies into the Australia and New Zealand markets. We look forward to leveraging Arrow's infrastructure and reseller programs to scale the business and enable our customers to upskill quickly," said Solterbeck.

Literally millions of people today participate in the digitally-enabled, peer-to-peer economy,

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, will convene a hearing on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. on "The Dawn of Artificial Intelligence." The hearing will conduct a broad overview of the state of artificial intelligence, including policy implications and effects on commerce. On October 12, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report entitled, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence. The report outlined opportunities for artificial intelligence, including recommendations on how the technology can be used to advance social good and improve government operations. The report also proposed 23 policy recommendations and a companion strategic plan that identified priorities for federally-funded research and development in artificial intelligence.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has signed a five-year deal with Flow Health, an AI company, to develop personalized healthcare plans for veterans using deep learning. Deep learning is a tool in machine learning that is useful for sifting through huge heaps of data to find useful information. Flow Health is focusing on building a knowledge graph, a database containing information about people's genomes and phenotypes, to identify disease risks and recommend treatments. "Our mission is to advance healthcare by applying the latest artificial intelligence techniques to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases," said Alex Meshkin, CEO of Flow Health. "The VA supports millions of Americans who have served our nation and deserve our honor, respect and the best care our country has to offer. Through our partnership with the VA, Flow Health is working to unleash the power of AI to benefit our nation's veterans."

IAI to Continue Development of an Adaptive Prognosis Tool for the Navy Submarines currently use aging Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) that have demanding maintenance needs. Diagnosing complex problems with critical submarine equipment like the Electrostatically Supported Gyro Navigator (ESGN) Stable Platform and Housing (SP&H) is difficult. A tool that can mine the vast information available from Field Engineer Information Management System (FEIMS) and Level II Manuals, and use smart diagnostics, prognostics and machine learning algorithms to efficiently solve maintenance problems would help optimize the process. IAI and collaborators at The Boeing Company, Integrated Shipboard Systems (ISS), will continue developing the Adaptive Prognostics Tool (APT) system for the Navy. APT will adhere to Naval Open Architecture guidelines and improve maintenance efficiency by presenting accurate and concise troubleshooting recommendations based on text mining historical data of faults and available resources.