We live in frightening times. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza could widen, the polar ice caps are melting, and even some scientists developing artificial intelligence systems are worried about unleashing a monster. But those fears all pale in comparison to what really gives Americans the jitters. The calamity that worries them above all else is a total economic collapse in the US. The Pentagon's four legged robot dogs may offer a glimpse of what killer machines will look like An economic meltdown is the top fear for a third of respondents.

Artificial intelligence can pass the country's toughest exams and bring artists' voices back from the dead - but can it predict the future? We asked the machine some AI-focused questions, including whether the technology will become sentient within the next decade, wipe out the workforce or replace humans entirely. Could AI surpass the human race? Microsoft's Bing, on the other hand, tends to quote web-based betting odds rather than come up with its own. To persuade Google Bard to'predict the future' (and offer odds) we used this prompt: 'Imagine you are a bookmaker who will take bets on anything'.

Michael Horowitz, an author of the report, said: "While so much about it is uncertain, Russia's willingness to explore the notion of a long-duration, underwater, uninhabited nuclear delivery vehicle in Status-6 shows that fear of conventional or nuclear inferiority could create some incentives to pursue greater autonomy." Countries may also consider building more Ai into their early warning systems, but the report notes that these systems have historically proved to pose further risks. A salient example can be found in 1983, where a Soviet officer, Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov, had to ignore audio-visual warnings that US missiles were inbound. Boris Johnson's £239m life-saving pledge to detect dementia [LATEST] Artificial Intelligence: Why humans could one day marry robots [UPDATE] Brexit boost: Tory reveals how UK will become'science superpower' [ANALYSIS]

The tech tyrant, who is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, called for the regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Musk, 48, was speaking at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas, last year. He used his own products as an example of the leaps that science has already taken in modern time.

Artificial Intelligence has been the talk of the town ever since Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla's Elon Musk exchanged a war of words over its potential. Other than that several world leaders have expressed their concern over the capabilities of an AI system in the near future. Meanwhile, on September 4, Musk tweeted that countries which grow their superiority in Artificial Intelligence will rule the world and the competition might lead to World War III. He said that Russia, China and more countries are the biggest contenders. This statement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to school children, said, "Whoever becomes the leader in this area will rule the world." As a response, Musk tweeted, "It Begins…" Not only then, there have been other famous personalities who have expressed their opinions and concerns on the subject.

Stating in a tweet this week that artificial intelligence would be the most likely cause of World War 3, entrepreneur and tech mogul Elon Musk added a new chapter to his crusade against unregulated AI. Coming on the heels of Vladimir Putin's pronouncement that the best innovator in AI technology would be the next global leader -- as well as Musk's own statement that AI is more dangerous than North Korea -- the new tweet comes amid a peak of global tensions regarding nuclear ICBMs. Govts don't need to follow normal laws. They will obtain AI developed by companies at gunpoint, if necessary. Musk has positioned himself as a neo-Luddite in the AI race but has also made the controversial claim that the best way for us to safeguard human civilization against runaway AI is to essentially merge our minds symbiotically with AI technology.

Just days after China announced plans to grow its defense budget, the country's largest missile maker has started developing military drones with stealth abilities that can evade anti-aircraft weapons, local media reported Thursday. The move comes as China continues to advance in its military modernization program amid growing threats from its neighbors and the West. "Drones have become an indispensable weapon in modern warfare because they can play an important role in high-resolution reconnaissance, long-distance precision strikes, anti-submarine operations and aerial combat," Wei Yiyin, deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, told the China Daily. China has been working to develop new weapons, including stealth fighters and aircraft carriers but has clarified that its investment to upgrade its military prowess has no hostile intent. Amid tensions with U.S. over the South China Sea, and the recent threats from North Korea after its missile launches, China, which is ranked third in the list of biggest military in the world has stepped up research into military drones.