Researchers at Cornell University have created a robot that they claim is conscious, albeit in a very limited fashion. While it’s unlikely to turn Buddhist or torment itself with existentialism, it does ‘discover itself’ – rather than being programmed with a rigid model of its own function and of the world around it, it learns about its locomotive abilities and the terrain it is placed on with a trial-and-error approach that enables it to overcome new obstacles – and the amputation of one of its limbs. I, for one, welcome an old memetic catchphrase …

We’ve had our fair share of RFID passport hype over here in the UK – you know the stuff, how it’s safe, secure, necessary and so on. Well, we can scratch safe and secure off the list, just as predicted by any number of security tech experts. A journalist and his 1337 h4Xx0r contact managed to strip out all the personal data contained on a UK passport chip, in a mere 48 hours starting from scratch – time to stock up on tin foil.

A couple in the United Kingdom used a new technique for screening embryos to select children without the genetic fingerprint of cystic fibrosis. The embryos were tested in vitro prior to being implanted. It’s a controversial precedent: detractors argue that it’s a slippery slope from here to Gattaca.

All those evanescent bits flying about the world’s networks aren’t as free as we’d like to think. Server farms generate a huge energy bill, and the economics are starting to drive innovation in energy thriftiness.