One billion years from now, Earth’s atmosphere will contain very little oxygen, making it uninhabitable for complex aerobic life.

The researchers say that Earth’s atmosphere will maintain high levels of oxygen for the next billion years before dramatically returning to low levels reminiscent of those that existed prior to what is known as the Great Oxidation Event of about 2.4 billion years ago.

Automobiles are not just dangerous and bad for the environment; they are also profoundly wasteful of the land around us, taking up way too much physical space to transport too few people... And cars take up space even while they're not in use. They need to be parked, which consumes yet more space on the sides of streets or in garages.

Given these threats, how can American cities continue to justify wasting such enormous tracts of land on death machines?

The forecast set to be released Wednesday highlights growing concerns that automation and robots, while offering economic benefits, are disproportionately killing low-skill jobs and aggravating social and economic stress.

The research comes amid intense debate on the rise of technologies such as self-driving cars and trucks, robotic food preparation and automated factory and warehouse operations and their impact on employment.

By the middle of the next century, many of the world’s major cities will be flooded, and in some cases, entire island nations will be underwater.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Human Settlements Program, or UN Habitat, convened its first roundtable to discuss the possibility of floating cities as a solution to this problem.

It’s about trying to create floating cities that meet the needs of the people whose coastlines are at risk of getting swallowed up.

It says 70% of the roles at high risk of automation are currently held by women. Part-timers and the young are the next most at risk.

The three occupations with the highest probability of automation are waiters and waitresses, shelf fillers and elementary sales occupations, all of which are low-skilled or routine.

Within 20 years, computer keyboards will be relegated to the technology dustbin, says Android co-founder Rich Miner.

Miner and others believe that the way humans communicate with machines is undergoing a fundamental change. The keyboard—which dates back to the 1800s—will be phased out over the next couple of decades, except for some “legacy applications,” Miner argues. Touchscreens have already kicked off this shift.

Two teams - one from the US and the other from Taiwan are competing to win the $10m (£8m) X-Prize to develop such a device. Clinical trials have already begun.

“I just can’t emphasize enough how much it’s just beginning,” he repeated. But, pressed Stock, what about ten years out or twenty years out? Hastings said at that point there will be “some serious virtual reality” to contend with.

“Over twenty to fifty years, you get into some serious debate over humans,” mused Hastings. “I don’t know if you can really talk about entertaining at that point. I’m not sure if in twenty to fifty years we are going to be entertaining you, or entertaining A.I.s.”

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller on Thursday articulated a new vision for the automaker through 2025, describing electric cars, ride-hailing services and cost-cutting as critical to the company's future.

"We believe in the future of this technology, its rapid spread and its revolutionary potential," Mueller said.

By 2022, there will be 203 million vehicles on the road that can receive software over-the-air (SOTA) upgrades; among those vehicles, at least 22 million will also be able to get firmware upgrades, according to a new report by ABI Research.

As the level of vehicle autonomy grows, cybersecurity will become increasingly critical. ABI Research anticipates the automotive industry will begin to see more mergers and acquisitions over the next two years as carmakers emphasize the value of software management solutions.