Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning are enabling computers to understand the world and respond intelligently to it. Google is already embracing these technologies for Android, but they're poised to have bigger implications, touching everything from drones to medical diagnosis. He made his fortune as co-founder of Netscape two decades ago, and more recently his firm has invested in successful companies like Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, Slack, and Lyft. Andreessen is in constant contact with entrepreneurs and investors trying to build the next great technology company. Andreessen argues that recent breakthroughs mean artificial intelligence has the potential to spawn a new generation of big, important technology companies. At the same time, he acknowledges that certain industries have proven stubbornly resistant to technological change -- and he argues that more work is needed to bring the power of software to every corner of the economy. We spoke by phone in late September.

People buy data plans for their smartphones so they can send email, check Facebook, and more, but what about a data plan for your drone? Wireless carrier Verizon will start selling such plans, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The plans reportedly will begin at 1 GB of data for 25 a month. Also on Thursday Verizon announced that it has been working since 2014 on the technology behind flying drones over its wireless network. This year Verizon successfully flew a 17-foot unmanned aircraft over its 4G LTE network, the company said, a technology that could be used to do things like inspect pipelines or electrical transmission lines.

"Soft language" in a new agreement governing international armed drone exports could give foreign companies an advantage over U.S. industry, according to analysts. The administration on Wednesday announced that 44 nations had signed a joint declaration overseeing the sale and use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles. The new document requires the countries to commit to the "responsible export" of armed UAVs and continue conversations about standards for drone use and sales, the use of drone strikes in accordance with "international law" and the effort to increase transparency. Rachel Stohl, a senior associate at the Stimson Center, said U.S. companies are often subject to higher standards than their international competitors with respect to drone exports. "This declaration could continue [to] result in other countries and foreign companies having an edge over U.S. companies for drone exports," Stohl said via email.

CHIBA – A city near Tokyo has joined hands with the central government and other partners to commercialize a drone-based delivery service it calls "the first step of an industrial revolution in the air." "We want to get a head start in the building of a future-oriented community and disseminate the idea to the rest of the world," Chiba Mayor Toshihito Kumagai said. The service, also involving private companies and research institutions, is expected to be launched by 2019. There, smaller drones will be loaded with individual packages for delivery to the balconies of high-rise condominiums in the same ward. The drones will all be programmed to fly autonomously using the GPS system.

A public awareness campaign last year did little to deter the growing number of rogue drones flying near wildfires and forcing firefighters to ground their own aircraft. So this year, the Department of the Interior tried something a little more direct. The agency gave real-time access to data on all active wildfires to two airspace mapping companies as part of a pilot program. One of those firms, Santa Monica-based AirMap, worked with drone manufacturer DJI, which created "geofences" around wildfires. When drones hit the virtual boundary, the geofencing software overrides the flight controller and forces them to hover in place.

AI-powered drones soon will be everywhere, monitoring crowds at major events, checking out traffic patterns on busy roads, surveying disaster sites, and inspecting airplanes. IBM is edging into this airborne safety and maintenance market early, with a deal to bring its Watson internet of things technology to unmanned aircraft systems built by Netherlands-based Aerialtronics. Data captured by high-resolution drone camera lenses will be fed into IBM's visual recognition application programming interfaces (APIs) and services on its Watson cognitive computing and Bluemix cloud-based analytics platforms. The first market for the Aerialtronics drones is expected to be for cell tower maintenance. Instead of sending humans to laboriously climb towers and report back, inspection teams can deploy drones, which quickly gain a 360-degree overview, according to IBM. The visual recognition APIs can then analyze the images captured by the drone to detect problems like damaged cabling or equipment defects.

These are video goggles from DJI. Why would you want a headset from DJI? Because it connects wirelessly to the company's new foldable Mavic Pro drone, giving you a live, bird's eye view from the camera (in 1080p no less). The idea isn't new, in drone circles it's pretty common to see bespectacled pilots, especially in racing, where "FPV" (as it's called -- first person view), is the only way to fly the drones at such breakneck speed. DJI announced the goggles (actually called "DJI Goggles") at its big Mavic launch event last week, but they weren't giving demos.

Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning are enabling computers to understand the world and respond intelligently to it. Google is already embracing these technologies for Android, but they're poised to have bigger implications, touching everything from drones to medical diagnosis. He made his fortune as co-founder of Netscape two decades ago, and more recently his firm has invested in successful companies like Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, Slack, and Lyft. Andreessen is in constant contact with entrepreneurs and investors trying to build the next great technology company. Andreessen argues that recent breakthroughs mean artificial intelligence has the potential to spawn a new generation of big, important technology companies. At the same time, he acknowledges that certain industries have proven stubbornly resistant to technological change -- and he argues that more work is needed to bring the power of software to every corner of the economy. We spoke by phone in late September.

UPS has also been testing drones for delivery, like this one on Children's Island in Marblehead, Mass. Tuesday, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt made its first frozen yogurt delivery to Hope College in Michigan, possibly the first drone delivery of frozen yogurt in the world. Taking froyo to new heights today... Stay tuned! The drone, which can reach speeds up to 30 miles-per-hour and carry up to 30 pounds, took 15 minutes to travel nearly a mile to the campus, WOOD TV8 reports. There, the company threw a party to celebrate the delivery.

Russia will shoot down internet drones that pose a threat to the country's security, reports said Tuesday, citing Russian officials. Several tech companies, including Google and Facebook, are planning to provide internet using drones to remote places that do not have access to the cyberspace. State-run telecom company Rostelecom cautioned the Russian telecommunications industry that internet-sharing drones, such as those from Britain's OneWeb and South Korea's Samsung, are likely to pose a security threat, Russian language Life news reported. "Ground operators might encounter problems. If foreign players win here, it could be an issue for [Russia's] sovereignty. Whoever controls the information controls the world," a representative for Rostelecom reportedly said.