Similar concerns arise around "open artificial (AI) intelligence ecosystems" - the next step up from systems like Amazon's Echo, Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana. Combining "listening" devices, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, machines are increasingly combining the capacity to understand normal conversation with the ability to take action on what they hear. This is a truly transformative technology platform. But what happens when these AI ecosystems begin to listen in on private conversations and share them with others? Or independently decide what's best for you?

From within the dark confines of the skull, the brain builds its own version of reality. By weaving together expectations and information gleaned from the senses, the brain creates a story about the outside world. For most of us, the brain is a skilled storyteller, but to spin a sensible yarn, it has to fill in some details itself. "The brain is a guessing machine, trying at each moment of time to guess what is out there," says computational neuroscientist Peggy Seriès. Guesses just slightly off -- like mistaking a smile for a smirk -- rarely cause harm.

As expected, Apple previewed iOS 10 at this week's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco. And as expected, upgrades to Apple's Siri digital assistant dominated the presentation. In a bid to compete against rivals such as Google and Amazon that are making hard pushes into the artificial-intelligence realm, Apple has opened Siri's API to third-party developers, potentially boosting its functionality. Uber and WhatsApp are early partners in this effort--if you ever wanted to order a cab or send a text massage to a friend via voice command, your chance is coming soon. On the desktop, Siri can help you send messages, find files, and execute some background tasks.)

Earlier this month, Bill Gates took the stage at the Recode conference to talk about philanthropy with his wife, Melinda. They discussed mobile payments, contraception, and billionaires giving away their fortunes. Then the conversation turned to artificial intelligence, and Gates grinned and swiveled in his giant red leather chair. "Certainly, it's the most exciting thing going on," he said. It's the big dream that anybody who's ever been in computer science has been thinking about."

With a wide base that tapers and expands to a fat midsection, upon which is perched a tiny head, the Russian robot named Promobot IR77 is no C-3PO. It evokes nothing so much as an artificially intelligent snowman, down to the machine's white-as-fresh-powder paint job. Like another famous snowman and itinerant – Frosty – the robot seems to have acquired a taste for skipping town, too. On June 16 the robot fled its creators, as The Washington Post reported. The story goes that an engineer working at Promobot Laboratories, in the Russian city of Perm, had left a gate open.

Google Research cooperated with OpenAI, Stanford University, and the University of California to publish a research paper highlighting the five main problems with machine learning systems that can lead to accidents. The problems, although minor now, can escalate to concerning levels during artificial intelligence development and operation.

PRO: Chris Bishop, director of Microsoft Research in Cambridge, said earlier this year that he believes the hyperbole around the AI risks could jeopardise any future developments that may in fact assist humanity. "Any scenario in which AI is an existential threat to humanity is not just around the corner," he told the Guardian. Referring to the views of high-profile cynics like professor Stephen Hawking, Bishop said: "I think they must be talking decades away for those comments to make any sense. Right now we are in control of that technology and we can make lots of choices about the paths that we follow." Oren Etzioni, chief executive of the Allen Institute for AI and professor of computer science at the University of Washington, meanwhile says the popular dystopian vision of AI is wrong because it "equates intelligence with autonomy".

Robots in Europe may soon be classified as "electronic persons" if the European Union adopts a recently submitted proposal. Owners of these robots would be liable to paying social security on each robot in an unprecedented step meant to address the rising presence of robotic workers in the EU. The proposal calls for "the creation of a European Agency for robotics and artificial intelligence in order to provide the technical, ethical and regulatory expertise." Robots are being used in exponentially greater numbers in factories and also taking on tasks ranging from surgery to manufacturing and even personal care. Robots are becoming so ubiquitous that there are growing fears over unemployment, wealth inequality and alienation.

The system consists of a mountable hardware band that scans up to 200 meters in every direction along with software that automatically avoids detected obstacles. If objects larger than a meter enter that radius, the radar system will detect it and automatically move the drone to avoid a collision. Arbe Robotics claims that its solution only uses 5 percent battery life throughout the flight. Obviously, this is for a civilian solution detecting slow-moving obstacles. DARPA has been innovating a collision avoidance system for drones to dodge speedy things like small aircraft and other drones.

The traditional definition of artificial intelligence is the ability of machines to execute tasks and solve problems in ways normally attributed to humans. Some tasks that we consider simple--recognizing an object in a photo, driving a car--are incredibly complex for AI. Machines can surpass us when it comes to things like playing chess, but those machines are limited by the manual nature of their programming; a 30 gadget can beat us at a board game, but it can't do--or learn to do--anything else. This is where machine learning comes in. Show millions of cat photos to a machine, and it will hone its algorithms to improve at recognizing pictures of cats.