Emerging cognitive tools, such as brain-computer interfaces and transcranial magnetic stimulation, could bring revolutionary advances in medicine and our understanding of behaviour. However, according to Swiss-based bioethicists Marcello Ienca and Roberto Andorno, these techniques also raise fundamental questions about human rights that need additional legal protection. Their concerns, published this week, are valid and appropriate, but we must be aware of the consequences of introducing such rights.

Recently, a co-worker said AI was so extreme that if put in charge of human happiness, it would strap us to a chair on a heroin drip à la "The Matrix." He's watched too many movies. Mostly, AI simply finds "which of these things is not like the other" in a large set--or handles the opposite task of grouping similar objects. It's not something to be afraid of anytime soon, really. But his fantasy made me wonder what other things people think is or isn't coming in the next five years or so.

Delivery robots are touted as gaining widespread popularity in the near future. Wheeled models could be suitable for urban areas, while UAVs have great potential in accessing difficult areas and carrying a variety of payloads. But first we have to overcome technical barriers, safety issues and more than a few legal aspects. We are use to thinking that a single UAV will only transport a single small box. However a mass delivery service should also focus on the possibility of charging big solids in the pursuit of service viability and success.

In the brightly lit robotics workshop at Abyss Creations' factory in San Marcos, California, a life-size humanoid was dangling from a stand, hooked between her shoulder blades. She wore a white leotard, her chest was thrust forward and her French-manicured fingers were splayed across the tops of her slim thighs. Harmony is a prototype, a robotic version of the company's hyper-realistic silicone sex toy, the RealDoll. The Realbotix room where she was assembled was lined with varnished pine surfaces covered with wires and circuit boards, and a 3D printer whirred in the corner, spitting out tiny, intricate parts that will be inserted beneath her PVC skull. Her hazel eyes darted between me and her creator, Matt McMullen, as he described her accomplishments. Harmony smiles, blinks and frowns. She can hold a conversation, tell jokes and quote Shakespeare. She'll remember your birthday, McMullen told me, what you like to eat, and the names of your brothers and sisters. She can hold a conversation about music, movies and books. And of course, Harmony will have sex with you whenever you want. Harmony is the culmination of 20 years' work making sex dolls, and five years of robot research and development. After his team had made their silicone and steel dolls as "human" as they could, the way ahead began to feel inevitable, irresistible: they would animate them, giving them personality and bringing them to life. McMullen had toyed with animatronics for years.

Technology and Legal Practice… How Disruptive Can It Possibly Be? New technology, capable of massively disrupting the legal profession, continues to be introduced at an ever-increasing rate. Legaltech, including chatbots, document automation and ground-breaking research tools, amongst others, raises fundamental existential questions about the legal profession. This evening event at Westminster Law School, University of Westminster, brings together three prominent experts in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics and law for a conversation around current developments in these areas, followed by an opportunity for the audience to engage and ask questions. Chrissie Lightfoot is a prominent international legal figure, an entrepreneur, a legal futurist, legaltech investor, writer, international keynote speaker, legal and business commentator (quoted periodically in The Times and FT), solicitor (non-practising), Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Westminster School of Law, and author of best-seller The Naked Lawyer and Tomorrow s Naked Lawyer. She is CEO and founder of EntrepreneurLawyer Ltd and as the visionary and creator of Robot Lawyer LISA - the world's first impartial AI lawyer – is CEO and co-founder of AI Tech Support Ltd (trading as Robot Lawyer LISA).

At this time, all participants have been placed in a listen-only mode. And the floor will be open for your questions following the presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. And now I would like to turn the conference over to Mellanox. Leading the call today will be Eyal Waldman, President and CEO of Mellanox Technologies; and Jacob Shulman, Chief Financial Officer. By now, you've seen our press release and associated financial information that we furnished to the SEC on Form 8-K this afternoon. If not, you may access them on our website at ir.mellanox.com. As a reminder, today's discussion includes predictions, expectations, estimates and other information, all of which we consider to be forward-looking statements. Throughout today's discussion, we present important factors relating to our business that may potentially affect these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from statements made today. As a result, we caution you against placing undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. And we encourage you to review our most recent SEC reports, including our 10-K and 10-Q, for a complete discussion of these factors and other risks that may affect our future results or the market price of our ordinary shares.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a concept that has a long standing tradition in the realm of science-fiction, popularized by Hollywood movies and iconic writers such as Isaac Asimov. However, AI has also received increased attention in recent years following news of progress in the field and the prospect of new, tangible, innovation such as self-driving cars. The Internet has played an important role in these developments, particularly as the platform for AI enabled services – some with significant implications for the continued development of a trusted Internet. The Internet Society is pleased to release a policy paper on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to help navigate some of the opportunities and challenges the technology presents, and to support an informed debate by de-mystifying some of its fundamental concepts. A key aspect is understanding machine learning, a specific AI technique that has been driving the development of new algorithms to substitute or support human decision-making – some of which are already deployed online.

Many of us like to think that artificial intelligence could help eradicate biases, that algorithms could help humans avoid hiring or policing according to gender or race-related stereotypes. But a new study suggests that when computers acquire knowledge from text written by humans, they also replicate the same racial and gender prejudices--thus perpetuating them. Researchers at Princeton University and Britain's University of Bath found that machine learning "absorbs stereotyped biases" when trained on words from the internet. Their findings, published in the journal Science on Thursday, showed that machines learn word associations from written texts that mirror those learned by humans. "Don't think that AI is some fairy godmother," said study co-author Joanna Bryson.

Computers of the future could collect, store or delete your thoughts without your knowledge, experts claim. In a new study a pair of bioethicists claim that'neurotechnology' that links up to the brain could become so advanced and widespread that it is targeted by hackers. This will give intruders unauthorised access to the mind, allowing them to eavesdrop on thoughts and even delete them. Computers of the future could steal or even delete your thoughts, experts have claimed. The authors explain that as'neurotechnology' improves and becomes commonplace, there is a risk that the technology could be hacked.

"Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind," wrote the playwright John Milton in 1634. But, nearly 400 years later, technological advances in machines that can read our thoughts mean the privacy of our brain is under threat. Now two biomedical ethicists are calling for the creation of new human rights laws to ensure people are protected, including "the right to cognitive liberty" and "the right to mental integrity". Scientists have already developed devices capable of telling whether people are politically right-wing or left-wing. In one experiment, researchers were able to read people's minds to tell with 70 per cent accuracy whether they planned to add or subtract two numbers.