Los Angeles will utilize AI-powered scanners at Union Station over the next month in an effort to stop passengers with hidden weapons from boarding the rails. Commuters descending to underground platforms for the A, B and D lines (formally known as the Blue, Red and Purple lines) will enter into the testing ground for Metro's 30-day pilot program, which went into effect on Tuesday, though the scanners will not run every day. The program arrives amid growing concern over passenger safety, with Metro recording an uptick in arrests this year for riders carrying concealed weapons. The roughly 6-foot-tall Evolv Technology scanners use artificial intelligence to pinpoint on a person's body where they could possibly be carrying a weapon, according to the company's website. All weapons are banned on the Metro system, and it is illegal to carry a concealed firearm without a permit in California.

Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution is a technothriller that follows the hunt for a terrorist through the streets of a future Washington, DC. More than 300 factual explanations and predictions (with endnotes) are baked into the story, and the research for it ranged from assembling the latest job automation reports to interviews with AI scientists and water-system cybersecurity experts. This is the first chapter, where we meet the main character, FBI special agent Lara Keegan, who is responding to an emergency alert at Washington's Union Station. Soon Keegan will be assigned to test out a robotic policing tool and launched into a conspiracy whose mastermind is using cutting-edge tech to tear the nation apart. The man's greasy red beard and braided Viking-style Mohawk had likely not been washed in a couple weeks, but the way that he cradled his AR-15 assault rifle made it clear he took care of what most mattered to him.

Your new WiFi network will be called WiFi 6, there are rumors of a new Switch console (already?), and Disney made a spray-painting drone. Yesterday was a bumper day for gaming news, too -- fancy playing Civilization on your iPhone or Mario Kart VR? Then we've got something for you. Will they call it Switch Pro or Switch One X?WSJ: New Nintendo Switch planned for 2019 Nintendo Switch sales are going great, and the company wants to keep them that way. Its plan to do that, the Wall Street Journal reports, will include launching a new version of the convertible console in the second half of 2019. The rumor suggests that instead of a new OLED screen, Nintendo could upgrade the LCD and make one that's thinner with narrower bezels. Smart.Google Assistant upgrades make it easier to use and easier to spend money on Google has announced a pair of upgrades for its AI assistant.