You have been born into an era of intelligent machines. They have watched over you almost since your conception. They let your parents listen in on your tiny heartbeat, track your gestation on an app, and post your sonogram on social media. Well before you were born, you were known to the algorithm. Your arrival coincided with the 125th anniversary of this magazine.

Hundreds of Google workers and their supporters gathered near the company's downtown San Francisco offices Thursday, raising signs that read "No Tech for Apartheid" and filling the air with chants of "Tech from Amazon and Google! You can't claim that you are neutral!" Similar scenes unfolded outside Google and Amazon offices in New York and Seattle, and a Google office in Durham, North Carolina. Google and Amazon employees were joined at the rallies by tech workers from other companies and Palestinian rights organizations. They all convened to protest Project Nimbus, Google and Amazon's cloud computing contract with the Israeli government.

Google is reportedly pursuing a Pentagon contract that plans to use Artificial Intelligence and cloud technology to gain an edge in the battlefield, but the move is almost certainly going to stir a furor among employees and the public. Tech giants are no stranger to government and military contracts. The defense and federal law enforcement agencies have worked with the likes of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and IBM for years. However, Google's case is slightly different, and there's a lot of ugly history behind it, especially in the past three years. Following vocal protest from employees, the company announced in 2018 that it will not renew its artificial intelligence contract with the U.S. Department of Defense over Project Maven, formally known as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team (AWCFT).

The aim of the program is to develop technology that will allow pilots to confidently shift some tactical tasks that require a high level of work, like visual air-to-air engagements, to artificial intelligence systems so they can better focus on managing the larger battle space.

Several companies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Hardware is becoming ever more sophisticated, reducing weight, improving flight times and bringing down prices. Last month DJI launched the Mavic Mini, a tiny 249-gram drone with a range of 4km that can shoot 2.7K video and fly for 30 minutes on a single battery. A feat of engineering and a measure of how far things have come in the last decade. October also saw the launch of another industry benchmark: Skydio's new drone, the Skydio 2. It's lighter, cheaper and more sophisticated than the original R1 – which is saying something.