I love it when I get feedback from a blog that I've written. I appreciate the different perspectives and insights that others bring to a topic of interest. And no blog that I've written has drawn more comments than my blog, "Isaac Asimov: The 4th Law of Robotics." The section of the blog that fueled the most comments stem from a scene in the movie I, Robot where Detective Spooner (played by Will Smith) is explaining to Doctor Calvin (who is responsible for giving robots human-like behaviors) why he distrusts and hates robots. He is describing an incident where his police car crashed into another car and both cars were thrown into a cold and deep river – certain death for all occupants.

What will the future of manufacturing be like? Imagine needing a new part for a household appliance. You could order it, get it made locally and get it delivered to your door within a couple of hours. Advances in 3D Printing and additive manufacturing will reduce waste even more, making it possible to create products and components that we can't make now. Everything will be connected by the Internet of Things to ensure that supply can keep track of changes in demand. Robots will take care of the repetitive, dangerous processes so that people can focus on matters where human interaction is so valuable.

These two Cat 793Fs are part of the autonomous mine truck fleet now at work globally. Cat says there will 100 such trucks working by the end of 2017. Imagine a time in the very near future when your hand-held concrete drill contains the entire layout of a job in its CPU and guides you to exactly where the holes need to be drilled. You never have to measure or use a chalk line or set the depth of the drill. It knows where to drill, how deep and everything it needs to know about the job.

The UN has warned that robots could destabilise the world ahead of the opening of a headquarters in The Hague. The centre's role is to monitor activity and developments in the field of artificial intelligence. So, the UN will monitor the risk of mass unemployment to the deployment of autonomous robotics by criminal organisations and/or rogue states. Consequentially, the new Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics has been set the goal of second-guessing the possible threats. This, the rise of the robots, has the potential for disaster to societies and nation states across the globe.

Remember how just five years ago it seemed like 3D printing was going to take over the world? How it seemed like we'd have 3D-printed cars that we'd be parking in our 3D-printed houses? Things didn't seem to work out so much. But even while the hype died, companies have been steadily working on the technology. Two years after MX3D announced a plan to 3D print an entire steel bridge designed by Joris Laarman, the project really is going forward, with anticipated completion sometime next year.

IT personnel must pay very close attention to 3D printing for two main reasons: It will change how the organization for which they work operates and how they will do their own jobs. The technology has been here for quite some time, but it is increasingly stunning. It continues to change and grow in capabilities. For instance, nanowerk reports on research published two weeks ago in Advanced Materials that describes 3D printing of electronics. This hybrid method – which combines direct ink writing (DIW) with automated pick-and-place of surface mount electronic components within a single manufacturing platform – enables surface mount electrical components of arbitrary shapes and sizes to be readily integrated onto printed soft wearable circuits.

On a block in San Francisco's SoMa district, near LinkedIn's headquarters and dozens of startups, a 180-year-old company best-known for making tractors has a gleaming new Silicon Valley office. But inside, instead of building the latest app, John Deere is focused on how to use artificial intelligence to make farming equipment that can meet modern sustainability and food production challenges. John Deere Labs, which opened its doors in the spring, made its first major deal on September 6. The company spent $305 million to acquire Blue River Technology, a startup with computer vision and machine learning technology that can identify weeds–making it possible to spray herbicides only where they're needed. The technology reduces chemical use by about 95%, while also improving yield.

Your public school education exists, in large part, thanks to the Second Industrial Revolution. When the revolution took hold of America in the 1870s, 30 years after the end of the first, half of the US population still spent their days toiling in fields. Education was typically voluntary, assuming the family was wealthy enough to afford tutors or school fees, and usually reserved for boys. With the development of commercial fertilizer and the internal combustion engine, productivity exploded while the number of farmers dropped to less than two percent of the population. It lessened the demand for child labor which in turn led to increased support for compulsory education for both sexes.

If you are a weed, we have some somber news. John Deere, the farm equipment company that's been chasing autonomous technology for more than 20 years, has agreed to buy Blue River Technology, a startup that uses AI to automatically identify and spray herbicide on weeds. Blue River Technology makes a number of farm tools: an automatic precision weed-sprayer, a device that trims lettuce at scale, and software for drones to analyze crops. The company once considered using a Tesla coil to zap weeds, according to Willy Pell, Blue River's director of new technology, which is objectively a cool idea. John Deere's tractors have a level of autonomy today--some can steer themselves via help from GPS signals, while image sensors can determine the quality of grain during harvesting.

Farm equipment maker John Deere is banking on machine learning to change the way crops are grown, stumping up US$305 million (A$380 million) for a start-up in the space. Deere said it would "fully acquire" Blue River Technology but allow the 60-person company to remain in California "with an objective to continue its rapid growth and innovation with the same entrepreneurial spirit that has led to its success". The buyout is expected to close in September. Blue River Technology makes two "bots" armed with computer vision and machine learning that can be towed by a traditional tractor. The LettuceBot is used to recognise and remove unwanted lettuce seedlings in order to maximise the crop.