Defense startup Anduril has moved closer to its ambition to build a new industry giant with the acquisition of drone maker Area-I. Combining Anduril's cutting-edge AI with Area-I's proven air vehicles could breed a formidable new range of smart drones. This was the first time the Valkyrie had launched another drone. Area-I was in the headlines this week with the U.S. Air Force reporting the successful launch of one of their Altius-600 drones from an XQ-58 Valkyrie unmanned jet, hinting at plans for a future of unmanned motherships releasing fleets of drones. The Anduril acquisition is likely to take the already successful Altius to another level by opening up a new range of missions. Anduril, founded in 2017, aims to bring a fast-paced Silicon Valley approach to the defense sector, challenging the existing giants like Boeing BA, Northrop Grumman NOC and Raytheon which are geared to the traditional crawling pace of military acquisition: "We deploy in hours, not years," states their website.

In the middle of the historic city of Bristol in England, about 150 engineers are currently designing the most sophisticated computer AI chip in the world. The "Colossus" has 1216 processors fitted on a chip characterized by the size of a postage stamp. Designed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the AI chip draws its name from the computer that was used by cryptographers at Bletchley Park during World War II. "[Colossus] was all top-secret for decades after the war, so the Americans thought they invented everything first. Now it is clear to the world that they didn't," claimed Simon Knowles, the inventor of the novel AI chip.

Worse still, AI is not yet fully democratized and has remained largely the bastion of major tech companies. As it stands now, the vast majority of AI is being developed within the enormous black hole of a few major technology companies. The problems they are tackling, even if real and worthwhile, address just a tiny portion of AI's potential to impact the tech industry and the overall economy, not to mention humanity as a whole. These companies' control of the vast majority of talent, data, and other resources necessary to develop life-changing technologies is bad for any number of stakeholders who would otherwise stand to benefit from AI.

This year, the company also plans to hire more programmers for its AI projects. Other prominent users, the Journal noted, ranged from industrial giant General Electric and health provider Massachusetts General Hospital to financial institutions such as Fannie Mae or Mastercard. AI, company officials said, quickly completes routine jobs and enables human employees to conduct other business. In coming years, however, its capabilities will allow it to spot trends and aid in making decisions with less and less reliance on programmers. An October report from International Data Corp. predicted that the global AI market would increase from $8 billion in 2016 to more than $47 billion in 2020.

The warnings are exaggerated, of course, and are rooted in science fiction (SkyNet isn't coming, guys, c'mon). But it doesn't hurt to be prepared, or at least to influence the direction AI research can or should take. A new enterprise rises to the challenge in the form of the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund. Backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, together with the Knight Foundation, the fund's goal is "to support work around the world that advances the development of ethical AI in the public interest, with an emphasis on applied research and eduction." At its launch last January 10, the fund already received an initial investment of $27 million -- with Hoffman and Omidyar each committing $10 million through their respective foundations, and the Knight Foundation's $5 million contribution.