BEIJING: China is eyeing the use of a high level of artificial intelligence and automation for its next generation of cruise missiles, a senior designer was quoted as saying on Friday. "We plan to adopt a'plug and play' approach in the development of new cruise missiles, which will enable our military commanders to tailor-make missiles in accordance with combat conditions," Wang Changqing of the China Aerospace and Industry Corp told the state-run China Daily newspaper. "Moreover, our future cruise missiles will have a very high level of artificial intelligence and automation," Wang added. "They will allow commanders to control them in real time manner, or to use a fire-and-forget mode, or even to add more tasks to in-flight missiles." China is already a global leader in the field of using artificial intelligence in missiles, Wang added, without elaborating.

The release of President Barack Obama's 2013 drone warfare playbook and the July 1 signing of an executive order on minimising civilian casualties has security analysts looking back at previous strikes and wondering what impact the executive order might have on future ones. Obama's 2013 policy guidance, released on July 31, after the American Civil Liberties Union sued for its release, had set "near certainty" that a "terrorist target is present" and that "non-combatants will not be injured or killed" as criteria for a strike. Q: So you don't know where you targeted him? I mean, how could you fire something out of the sky and blow something up and kill people and not know what country it's in? TONER: [laughing] I understand what - your question, Brad.

DOHA Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen on Thursday after a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the medical aid group killing 19 people.

Welcome to the Applied Materials Earnings Conference Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards you will be invited to participate in a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Michael Sullivan, Vice President of Investor Relations. In a moment, we'll discuss the results for our third quarter which ended on July 31. Joining me are Gary Dickerson, our President and CEO; and Bob Halliday, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, let me remind you that today's call contains forward-looking statements including Applied's current view of its industries, performance, products, share positions, profitability and business outlook. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, and are not guarantees of future performance.

WHEN it comes to following the money, the authorities have their work cut out. Every year, criminals are thought to launder more than 1.5 trillion worldwide. Which is why Australia's financial intelligence agency is turning to AI for help. In Australia, the scale of the problem could amount to some US 4.5 billion annually. There, the task of cracking down on illegally obtained funds falls to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

IN "Minority Report", a policeman, played by Tom Cruise, gleans tip-offs from three psychics and nabs future criminals before they break the law. In the real world, prediction is more difficult. But it may no longer be science fiction, thanks to the growing prognosticatory power of computers. That prospect scares some, but it could be a force for good--if it is done right. Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, can generate remarkably accurate predictions.

Pasadena, CA - Firefighters have only their wits and five senses to rely on inside a burning building. But research developed in part by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, may change that, introducing artificial intelligence (AI) that could collect data on temperatures, gases and other danger signals and guide a team of first responders safely through the flames. AUDREY, the Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction, and sYnthesis, has received the Undersecretary's Award for Collaboration from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in recognition of its joint development by JPL and DHS. It's part of the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) program, a DHS initiative to innovate new ways to keep firefighters, police, paramedics and other first responders safe in the field through increased awareness of their surroundings and communication abilities. But the big picture is even more exciting: AUDREY can track an entire team of firefighters, sending relevant signals to individuals while helping to make recommendations for how they could work together.

A federal judge has rejected a proposed 100 million settlement between Uber Technologies Inc. and drivers in two states, reopening the debate over the car-hailing company's freelance labor model. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco ruled Thursday that the settlement in April of two class-action suits in California and Massachusetts isn't fair, accurate or reasonable for drivers. The ruling sends attorneys for both sides back to the drawing board in a case viewed as a pivotal moment for more companies that depend on a pool of freelance workers to drive taxis, clean houses, run errands or perform other menial tasks. The parties are ordered to meet to figure out next steps and appear in court on Sept. 15. In response to the judge's ruling, Uber said it was reviewing its options.

You won't find a bigger fan of the technology than me. I love robots, autonomy and artificial intelligence. I can still remember visiting Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and standing a few feet away from the car that nearly won the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004. But I'm also a realist -- and despite recent promises by Uber and Ford, I know that self-driving cars are decades away from becoming a significant part of our lives. You have to love Ford and its promise of a driverless car by 2021 -- a mere five years from now.

An advertising campaign that has held the attention of Olympics viewers longer than almost any other spot on television does not feature athletes, or their parents, or cars. The GE ads, which appeared on more than 100 million screens in the last two weeks, shows a woman named Sarah building a jet engine. In one version, she explains to a touring family that GE can be "digital and industrial" – it builds machines that talk to each other, but people program those robots. "This is me, using a wrench to build a jet engine," Sarah says. In another spot, when a confused youngster asks if the man working on the next closest engine is a robot, Sarah drills home her point.