A former Google engineer was arrested in California on Wednesday for stealing more than 500 files containing artificial intelligence trade secrets from the company and using the information to benefit rival tech companies in China. In an indictment that was unsealed in a federal California court, prosecutors accused Linwei Ding, a 38-year-old Chinese national who started working at Google in 2019, of uploading trade secrets from his Google-issued laptop to personal cloud storage accounts. The documents that Ding stole involved "building blocks" of Google's AI infrastructure, according to the indictment. Ding was arrested in Newark, California, and charged with four counts of theft of trade secrets. If convicted, he can be sentenced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 for each count.

A former Google engineer has made a stark realization that humans will achieve immortality in eight years - and 86 percent of his 147 predictions have been correct. Ray Kurzweil spoke with the YouTube channel Adagio, discussing the expansion in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics, which he believes will lead to age-reversing'nanobots.' These tiny robots will repair damaged cells and tissues that deteriorate as the body ages and make us immune to diseases like cancer. The predictions that such a feat is achievable by 2030 have been met with excitement and skepticism, as curing all deadly diseases seems far out of reach. Kurzweil was hired by Google in 2012 to'work on new projects involving machine learning and language processing,' but he was making predictions in technological advances long before.

Here's some news that's likely to give Elon Musk a heart attack: a former Google engineer has founded a religious organization that seeks to "develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence." Anthony Levandowski co-founded self-driving trucking company Otto, which Uber acquired for $680 million in 2016. He became head of engineering for the ride-hailing firm's autonomous vehicle division, and made headlines after being fired in May following allegations he stole trade secrets from former employer Google. It seems Levandowski could now become more famous for his nonprofit religious entity, called Way of the Future, which he founded in September 2015. Wired's Backchannel discovered previously unreported state filings that reveal the corporation aims "through understanding and worship of the Godhead, [to] contribute to the betterment of society."

Advancements in artificial intelligence may result in "atrocities" because the technology will behave in unexpected ways, a former Google software engineer has warned. Computer scientist Laura Nolan left Google in June last year after raising concerns about its work with the U.S. Department of Defense on Project Maven, a drone program that was using AI algorithms to speed up analysis of vast amounts of captured surveillance footage. Speaking to The Guardian, the software engineer said the use of autonomous or AI-enhanced weapons systems that lack a human touch may have severe, even fatal, consequences. She said: "What you are looking at are possible atrocities and unlawful killings even under laws of warfare, especially if hundreds or thousands of these machines are deployed. There could be large-scale accidents because these things will start to behave in unexpected ways.

Book a flight now, and Google Flights' says they'll make sure you get the best price. The indictment filed by the U.S. attorney's office in San Jose, California, is an offshoot of a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Waymo, a self-driving car pioneer spun off from Google. Uber agreed to pay Waymo $245 million to settle the case last year, but the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit made an unusual recommendation to open a criminal probe after seeing enough evidence to conclude a theft may have occurred. Uber considered having self-driving technology crucial to survive and counter potential competitive threats from Waymo and dozens of other companies working on robotic vehicles. Uber wants to build self-driving cars so it can eliminate the need to have a human behind the wheel, one of the biggest expenses in its still-unprofitable ride-hailing service.

Obviously the next logical project for a successful Silicon Valley engineer is to set up an AI-worshipping religious organization. Anthony Levandowski, who is at the center of a legal battle between Uber and Google's Waymo, has established a nonprofit religious corporation called Way of the Future, according to state filings first uncovered by Wired's Backchannel. Way of the Future's startling mission: "To develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society." Levandowski was co-founder of autonomous trucking company Otto, which Uber bought in 2016. He was fired from Uber in May amid allegations that he'd stolen trade secrets from Google to develop Otto's self-driving technology.

Uber has fired Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer who led Uber's self-driving car efforts, because of his refusal to cooperate in the lawsuit filed by competitor Waymo. Levandowski was at the center of a contentious lawsuit between Uber and Waymo over allegations documents he took were used in Uber's self-driving car development. The news was first reported by the New York Times. Earlier this month, Uber reached out to Levandowski in a letter, asking for him to cooperate in the investigation. As part of the request, Uber asked Levandowski either to confirm he never took documents from Google or return any remaining documents in his possession.

Uber has threatened to fire Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer at the centre of Uber's court case with Alphabet's Waymo, accused of stealing self-driving car trade secrets. Waymo sued Uber alleging that Levandowski, one of the former engineers key to the development of Google's self-driving cars, downloaded more than 14,000 confidential documents before leaving Waymo to start self-driving truck firm Otto, which was subsequently bought by Uber. According to a court filing, Uber told Levandowski that he must comply with an order to return Waymo documents or face possible termination. Uber general counsel, Salle Yoo, wrote in a letter to Levandowski: "If you do not agree to comply with all of the requirements set forth herein, or if you fail to comply in a material manner, then Uber will take adverse employment action against you, which may include termination of your employment." The case, which pits the two companies battling for dominance in the fast-growing field of self-driving cars, hinges on Waymo's allegations that data taken by Levandowski made its way into a key sensor system for self-driving cars called Lidar.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Anthony Levandowski, Otto cofounder and VP of Uber's advanced technologies group, speaks during the launch of the pilot model of the Uber self-driving car on Sept. 13, 2016 in Pittsburgh. In Oct. 2016, when Anthony Levandowski showed FORBES a demo of Uber Technologies' nascent self-driving car project, he was less than a year removed from Google.