Killer robots are not the worry...

WHILE scrolling through hundreds of unopened emails in my inbox this morning one titled “Opposition to killer robots remains strong” caught my eye.

“Good,” I thought, “that’s one less thing to worry about this year.” However, the term “remains strong” jumped out. Are there fears of a growing pro-killer robot movement?

Always a sucker for clickbait, I had to find out more.

According to the press release 62 per cent of people oppose the development of deadly weapons that could attack without any human intervention.

Which means that more than a third of those surveyed are ambivalent at best or, at worst, in favour of artificial intelligence with the capability to coldly destroy mankind.

Lockdown boredom has really kicked in for some, it seems.

Might I suggest those on the fence about killer robots watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day before making their final decision?

AFTER a long wait Line Of Duty is to return to our screens later this year. Filming was suspended last March – for obvious reasons – while producers hastily adjusted the script and shooting schedule to accommodate Covid-19 regulations.

But this week a BBC teaser confirmed AC-12 are back in the investigation room on the hunt for bent coppers. And the sixth series will feature an extra episode. To quote the great Superintendent Ted Hastings: “Now we’re suckin’ diesel.”

SPINACH has been taught how to send emails by scientists. No really. A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology successfully transformed the leafy greens into sensors capable of detecting chemicals in the ground. A signal is then emitted through carbon nanotubes that is picked up by infrared cameras, which send an email alert. Got that? Me neither.

Researchers thus hope that the spinach will be able to warn us about climate change.

So, now vegetables are saving the planet by email. Admittedly, I may not fully understand nanobionics – but still, it’ll make a nice change from spam.