A US university's claim it can use facial recognition to "predict criminality" has renewed debate over racial bias in technology. Harrisburg University researchers said their software "can predict if someone is a criminal, based solely on a picture of their face". The software "is intended to help law enforcement prevent crime", it said. But 1,700 academics have signed an open letter demanding the research remains unpublished. One Harrisburg research member, a former police officer, wrote: "Identifying the criminality of [a] person from their facial image will enable a significant advantage for law-enforcement agencies and other intelligence agencies to prevent crime from occurring."

A free facial recognition tool that allows people to find pictures of themselves or others from around the internet has drawn criticism from privacy campaigners. PimEyes describes itself as a privacy tool to help prevent misuse of images. But Big Brother Watch said it could "enable state surveillance, commercial monitoring and even stalking on a scale previously unimaginable". It comes as Amazon decides to pause its use of facial recognition for a year. Polish website PimEyes was set up in 2017 as a hobby project, and commercialised last year.

Drone firm Zipline has been given the go-ahead to deliver medical supplies and personal protective equipment to hospitals in North Carolina. The firm will be allowed to use drones on two specified routes after the Federal Aviation Administration granted it an emergency waiver. It is the first time the FAA has allowed beyond-line-of-sight drone deliveries in the US. Experts say the pandemic could help ease some drone-flight regulations. Zipline, which has been negotiating with the FAA, wants to expand to other hospitals and eventually offer deliveries to people's homes.

Tesla is raising the price of its "self-driving" option on its electric vehicles worldwide starting with a $1,000 (£820) hike. Founder Elon Musk tweeted that the price "will continue to rise" as its technology improves. But the entrepreneur said the technology it's adding will be worth more than $100,000. Mr Musk has been in a battle with officials in California over the restarting of Tesla's US car assembly. Tesla's "full self-driving" (FSD) option is called Autopilot, although it isn't fully autonomous.

Facebook has launched a new chatbot that it claims is able to demonstrate empathy, knowledge and personality. "Blender" was trained using available public domain conversations which included 1.5 billion examples of human exchanges. The social media giant said 49% of people preferred interactions with the chatbot, compared with another human. But experts say training the artificial intelligence (AI) using a platform such as Reddit has its drawbacks. Numerous issues arose during longer conversations.

A drone company that had to abandon its fast-food delivery tests has partnered with Ireland's health authority to deliver prescriptions instead. Manna Aero is working with the Health Service Executive to deliver medicines and other essential supplies to vulnerable people in the small rural town of Moneygall. The company's trial uses autonomous drones made in Wales. And it is looking at the possibility of testing in the UK within weeks. The UK has already announced a test of drones to carry supplies to the Isle of Wight during the pandemic.

The collaboration between Hastings Contemporary and Bristol Robotics Laboratory is being trialled while the gallery is closed to visitors during the coronavirus lockdown.

Waymo, the self-driving car company spun out of Google, is locked in a legal battle with Uber, alleging the cab company stole its key technology.

A pilot has flown a drone into a crane, according to an air-accident report. The pilot had planned the drone flight in Kent with four reference points, all at 400ft above ground level - higher than three existing cranes on the site. But another crane was erected after his site safety visit, and on take-off the drone crashed into the jib of the new structure, damaging the unmanned craft. The crash, in June last year, is listed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) update this month. The incident report was picked up by The Register.