I found this one over at Wired Gadget Lab. It looks like we're one step closer to killer machines taking over the world. Technophobia aside, this is a pretty cool development.

New technologeis confuse reality and fiction: Pope - via MontrealGazette.com - I'll admit at first I jumped to the conclusion that this was going to be the Pope railing against science.  I figured what it would boil down to was "reality is whatever the church tells you".  To my surprise this was not the case at all.  In his statement, he cautions that technology can lead to "the risk of indifference towards real life."  It's hard to disagree with that statement.  While we're still many years from virtual reality technology that's passable as actual reality, the concept is sound.  I see it as a form of escapism.  Even today there are people who spend more time playing videogames than doing any of their other daily activities.  Other people get lost for hours on end living vicariously through celebrities and their friends in social media circles.  However, I don't think any of these people are "confused" on the line between real and virtual.  These technologies offer an escape from the monochromatic boredom of everyday life.  Where things will get interesting is when technology is actually able to simulate reality in a convincing way.  Then you'll see people giving up on the real world to retreat into whatever virtual world they like.  What is the Matrix, indeed.

Robots Guarding US Nuclear Stockpile - via SingularityHub.com - Our robot overlords are almost upon us.  This is some pretty cool tech.  Between this and the cool shit Google has been driving around lately, pretty soon I shouldn't have to deal with all you assholes cutting me off.
 
Ars Technica: Banned in Iran! - via (shocker!) ArsTechnica.com - It looks like Iran's government maybe didn't like the reports Ars Technica was publishing on the Stuxnet infection wreaking havoc on Iranian computer networks.  It's scary how a government with the proper infrastructure in place can effectively cut off whatever website or content they want without any notice.

Superhero or supervillain: Which lurks inside you? - via MNN.com - Results from a study asking people if they would do good or evil if they were to one day find themselves with superpowers.  I like to think I would be a benevolent dictator.

Google is a frickin' amazing company.  It seems they're working on a little bit of everything.  Today the project of note is work on self-driving cars capable of functioning in traffic.  Currently they still need a human inside for safety reasons, but this is just plain cool.
 
What we're driving at - via the Official Google Blog
 
Google Cars Drive Themselves, in Traffic - via NYTimes.com
 
The one legitimate caveat that I see with this technology is the same as with so many others.  What happens when people develop a dependence on this tech and it fails?  The closest current example I can think of is something that I am guilty of, myself - reliance on in-car GPS navigation.  How screwed would you be if you were in an unfamiliar location, your GPS unit stopped working and you didn't know how to read a map?  That assumes, of course, that you even have a map.
When people get used to technology they take it for granted.  Don't believe me?  Try to leave your cell phone off and not use the internet for a week.  Unplug your land line (if you even still have one) and forget about the TV and the radio, too.  One of two things will happen.  Either you'll realize you don't need these things or you'll go batty from the isolation and inconvenience inside of a day or two.
 
For those unaware - In the Terminator movie franchise, Cyberdyne is the company that created the artificial intelligence that eventually triggered a nuclear war.  Everybody knows that if it's not zombies, it will be sentient robots that take over the world.  Make sure your kill switch is hardwired, Google.