MELBOURNE, July 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - General Motors' (GM.N) latest journey in autonomous driving has taken it to the courthouse. Late on Friday, the $80 billion carmaker filed a suit accusing Ford Motor (F.N) of trademark infringement after the latter renamed its new driver-assist technology BlueCruise. The problem? GM has a similar system, in operation since 2017, dubbed Super Cruise, while its $30 billion self-driving division read more is called GM Cruise. The word has, of course, formed part of a generic industry term synonymous for decades with the beginnings of autonomous driving - "cruise control". Granted, Super Cruise, and Ford's new features, go beyond just speed control, allowing cars to maintain and change lanes and speed.

HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Artificial intelligence doesn't hate you, prominent researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote, "nor does it love you, but you are made of atoms which it can use for something else". This sets the scene for Tom Chivers' fascinating new book, which borrows its title from the quote, on why so-called superintelligence should be viewed as an existential threat potentially greater than nuclear weapons or climate change. The "strange, irascible and brilliant" Yudkowsky is a central figure throughout the book. His early musings on the potential and dangers of artificial intelligence during the mid- to late-2000s gave birth to the Rationalist movement, a loose community dedicated to AI safety. Chivers, a former science journalist with Buzzfeed and the Telegraph, offers a meticulously researched investigation into who the Rationalists are, and more importantly why they believe humanity is fast approaching an inflection point between "extinction and godhood".

HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Forget autonomous driving: The latest digital buzzword is medtech. Investors at last week's annual RISE technology conference in Hong Kong talked up a coming healthcare artificial-intelligence revolution, and the hype is as palpable in Silicon Valley. Chinese firms are well positioned to take the lead. U.S. venture capital funds poured over $12 billion into local biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical-device upstarts in the first half of this year, according to data from Pitchbook, on track to surpass last year's record of $17 billion. Investments in the country's life sciences sector doubled to $12 billion last year, according to ChinaBio Consulting, and accelerated to more than $5 billion in the first quarter of 2018, led by prolific backers like Qiming Ventures and Sequoia Capital China.