Technology of the future on show
In a robotics lab at the University of Las Vegas, I've come to meet Sophia, who looks pretty human, and is just learning to walk.
Sophia, Robot
"I want people to perceive me as the robot I am. However, I wouldn't want to trick people into thinking I'm a human. I just want to communicate with humans in the best possible ways, which includes looking like one."
Sophia, who's had advanced notice of my questions, has few practical uses right now. But her creators - an American firm employing Chinese scientists - believe she represents a big step on the road to artificial intelligence .
David Hanson, Hanson Robotics
"Our aspiration is to bring the machines to life, to create living intelligence systems and there you'll see the greatest revolution in artificial intelligence. We're aspiring towards this. Do we know for sure that it can be done? We think it can."
And among the thousands of new gadgets on show in Las Vegas this week, artificial intelligence is a constant theme.
There's a seeing suitcase that can follow its owner around the airport. This friendly robot wanders around your home filming short bursts of video to send to your phone.
And Vincent, developed in Cambridge, is a drawing programme that learns to turn simple sketches into works of art.
And here is the most obvious example of AI: the race to transform cities with driverless cars. This autonomous cab from Uber's rival, Lyft, still has someone who can take over the wheel. But within a couple of years, this company believes we'll hop into a cab which will take us across town all on its own.
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Tackling the sea of plastic
Reducing the eight million tons of plastic dumped in the world's oceans every year is now a priority around the globe and closing the loop by recycling is one answer.
These are deposit return-or-reverse vending machines. You put used plastic bottles in and they pay out. It scans the bar code on the label and offers the chance to make a donation to charity or credit in this supermarket. Collections are made across Sweden and brought here to this plant 90 minutes south of Stockholm. They handle plastic and glass bottles as well as aluminium cans. The Swedes have been using this type of system since the mid-eighties.
But the country is no stranger to the scourge of plastic pollution, especially in the sea. It's a major problem here but one the environment minister insists is solvable.
Karolina Skog - Swedish Environment Minister
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“There are many interesting new materials coming up from research and innovation and I see that once we have knowledge on really sustainable materials we can enter them into market rather quickly because there is a public demand and we have legal tools to use if needed. So yes, I am optimistic if we work together policy and industry.”
And people too. As plastics break down to micro level and enter the food chain in our oceans, it's not just an issue for coastal communities. It's a problem that affects all of us and can only be solved by all of us.
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Hyperloop: the train of the future?
We're heading through the Nevada desert, north of Las Vegas, for a glimpse of what its backers claim is the future of transport.
This is Hyperloop - an attempt to send passengers hurtling at 700 miles an hour through a vacuum tube.
Many think that's far-fetched, but this project got the backing last year of Virgin with Sir Richard Branson becoming chairman.
In this 500-metre test track, they say they have shown that the technology works, though they've not yet put any human beings on board.
The head of engineering, a space scientist recruited from NASA, sees no reason why people might be scared.
Anita Sengupta, Head of Engineering, Virgin Hyperloop One
"The Hyperloop is a maglev train in a vacuum system, or in a vacuum tube. And so you can also think of it as an aircraft flying at 200,000 feet so people don't have any issue flying in aeroplanes and people don't have any issue going in maglev trains. This is simply combining the two and allows you to be more energy efficient."
The Virgin Hyperloop team have said they could take passengers from London to Edinburgh in 50 minutes or cut the journey between New York and Boston to under half an hour.
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