Robots should one day have rights as "electronic persons," members of the European Parliament recommended Thursday -- but not until the machines are all fitted with "kill" switches to shut them down in an emergency. Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee wants the European Commission to propose legislation that will settle a number of ethical and liability issues in the field of robotics -- including who is to blame when an autonomous vehicle is involved in a collision. Granting the more sophisticated autonomous robots some kind of electronic personhood could settle issues of who is responsible for their actions, the committee suggested. More urgent than the question of robot rights, though, is the setting up of an obligatory insurance scheme that would pay out to the victims of a self-driving car if it caused an accident in the European Union. The MEPs also want an EU agency to advise on the technical, ethical and regulatory issues around robotics, and a voluntary ethical code of conduct for those who design and work with robots.

In another example of glacial bureaucracy, a committee from the European Parliament has written a report which recommends a meeting about robots and artificial intelligence (AI), reports Jamie Davies at Telecoms.com The Legal Affairs Committee has produced a report that strongly urges the European Commission (hereafter known as the Gaggle of Red-tapers) to create legislation and regulation to govern the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence. It suggests the Gaggle of Red-tapers creates a new department to "to supply public authorities with technical, ethical and regulatory expertise". The Legal Affairs Committee set up this working group to look into artificial intelligence in April 2016, and it would appear this report is the result of ten months' hard work. It took 21 MEP's, two of whom abstained from voting alongside two who rejected the proposals in the report (for some reason), ten months to come to the conclusion it should recommend the European Commission should regulate the development of artificial intelligence.

MEPs have called for the adoption of comprehensive rules for how humans will interact with artificial intelligence and robots. The report makes it clear that it believes the world is on the cusp of a "new industrial" robot revolution. It looks at whether to give robots legal status as "electronic persons". Designers should make sure any robots have a kill switch, which would allow functions to be shut down if necessary, the report recommends. Meanwhile users should be able to use robots "without risk or fear of physical or psychological harm", it states.

For James Simmonds-Read, overcoming language barriers is essential. He works at The Children's Society in London with migrants and refugees, mostly young men who are victims of human trafficking. "They are all asylum seekers and a large number of them have issues around language," he said. "Very frequently, we need to use translators." That has its own challenges, because it means the young men must disclose sensitive information to third-party interpreters.

Viki, an artificial intelligence assistant is allegedly under development to strengthen smartphone giant Nokia. While it is unclear where did Nokia got the name Viki, but suspicions point to 1989 TV character VICI who is a child android. According to GSM Info, Nokia just requested European Union for trademark protection of Viki and its product description suggests that this software will combine all data sources into a single chat and voice-based interface. Nokia Viki will therefore become the new interface similar to Siri and the likes. Question now is how will Viki fare in contrast to Apple Siri AI assistant or other support that competitors feature.

The draft report, approved by 17 votes to two and two abstentions by the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs, proposes that "The most sophisticated autonomous robots could be established as having the status of electronic persons with specific rights and obligations, including that of making good any damage they may cause." My report on#robotics adopted today including a debate on tax and social system and the possible introduction of a general basic income! Authored by Luxembourg MEP Mady Delvaux, the report proposes definitions and outlines rules to govern how robots interact with humans "now that humankind stands on the threshold of an era" that it claims will see artificial intelligence (AI) "unleash a new industrial revolution." Press release after today's vote at @EP_Legal:"#Robots: Legal Affairs Committee calls for EU-wide rules" https://t.co/XTm7Bico9d AI developers will have to ensure their creations follow a set of rules that prohibit them from harming a human or allowing a human to come to harm through their inaction.

MEPs requested for an implementation of inclusive policies about how humans will interact with robots and other artificial intelligence. The report clearly considers that the world is on the verge of a'new industrial' robotic innovation. It also contemplates whether to give robots a legal category as electronic individuals. Furthermore, the report dictates designers to create a'kill switch' for all robots. This will allow all functions to be shut down if the situation calls for it.

After a decline in 2015, U.S. patenting activity rose to a record high in 2016. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 304,126 patents last year, up from 298,407 in 2015. The increase was largely driven by West Coast technology companies, including Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Boeing, IBM, Intel, Google, and Microsoft. According to a 24/7 Wall St. analysis of data provided by Information for Industry (IFI) Claims Patent Services, Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics was granted the most patents in 2016. Including its major subsidiaries, Samsung was awarded more than 8,500 patents, slightly higher than IBM's 8,088 awarded patents.

Women Who Tech, a national nonprofit working to break down barriers to women in the tech and startup industry, in partnership with Craig Newmark, announced the 10 finalists selected for its fourth Women Startup Challenge pitch competition, a nationwide contest that will focus on showcasing and funding women-led startups working in the areas of virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). The competition is co-sponsored by startup investors Fred and Joanne Wilson, and will award $50,000 as a cash grant, $35,000 in pro bono legal services by global law firm Paul Hastings, LLP, among other startup friendly services. "We received close to 200 entries from women-led startups who are at the forefront of VR and AI. These ventures are building virtual limbs, self-driving non-automotive vehicles, 3-D immersive cameras, drone technologies and wearable tech for gaming. It's vitally important that women and their companies get properly supported so that their perspective on these life changing products is brought to market," said Allyson Kapin, founder of Women Who Tech.

The European parliament has urged the drafting of a set of regulations to govern the use and creation of robots and artificial intelligence, including a form of "electronic personhood" to ensure rights and responsibilities for the most capable AI. In a 17-2 vote, with two abstentions, the parliament's legal affairs committee passed the report, which outlines one possible framework for regulation. "A growing number of areas of our daily lives are increasingly affected by robotics," said the report's author, Luxembourgish MEP Mady Delvaux. "In order to address this reality and to ensure that robots are and will remain in the service of humans, we urgently need to create a robust European legal framework". The proposed legal status for robots would be analogous to corporate personhood, which allows firms to take part in legal cases both as the plaintiff and respondent.