Evolutionary robotics

Evolution is a very slow process, due largely to the fact that nature doesn't "know" in advance which features of an animal will be beneficial. A new AI-based algorithm does know, however, allowing it to design robots within a matter of seconds.

It was only last month that futurists Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking warned about the dangers of intelligent robots, and a new research project led by the University of Cambridge won't do much to put their minds at ease.