Weaponized drones. Machines that attack on their own. 'That day is going to come'

Technicians and researchers are cautioning about the threat such technology poses for cybersecurity, that fundamentally important practice that keeps our computers and data -- and governments' and corporations' computers and data -- safe from hackers. In February, a study from teams at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge warned that AI could be used as a tool to hack into drones and autonomous vehicles, and turn them into potential weapons. "Autonomous cars like Google's (Waymo) are already using deep learning, can already raid obstacles in the real world," Caspi said, "so raiding traditional anti-malware system in cyber domain is possible." Another study, by U.S. cybersecurity software giant Symantec, said that 978 million people across 20 countries were affected by cybercrime last year. Victims of cybercrime lost a total of $172 billion -- an average of $142 per person -- as a result, researchers said.