The PC that feels regret

We weren't at the International Conference on Learning Theory in Haifa, Israel to hear Prof Yishay Mansour of Tel Aviv University's Blavatnik School of Computer Science launch his project, but we wish we had been.

Rather like Prof Mansour's computers: he announced that he is giving them "regret" - allowing them to measure the distance between the desired outcome of their models and what actually happened, so that if they bugger up the first time, they don't do it again.

This groundbreaking research is another step on the evolutionary ladder for computers. As regular readers know, the electronic tykes are terrific at chess and vacuuming, but useless as footballers.

This will give computers a skill that bankers and estate agents have been unable to master.