FBI: Apple case not trailblazer for legal precedent

The case involving a court order demanding Apple help the FBI unlock the iPhone linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters is unlikely to be a trailblazer for setting a legal precedent in future cases, FBI Director James Comey told a congressional panel on 25 February. The complex and evolving nature of mobile phone software will limit how broadly the case can be applied, Comey said during a US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing examining worldwide threats. Feb 26, 2016

French robot uses ‘artificial taste’ to judge art

Strolling through the exhibition halls of Paris Quai Branly museum of indigenous art, a little robot in a bowler hat has learned to become a silent art critic. The Berenson robot, developed in France in 2011 and named after American art expert Bernard Berenson, is the brainchild of anthropologist Denis Vidal and robotics engineer Philippe Gaussier. Feb 24, 2016