PookaMacP
War Child
There's nothing new about Bono's interest in rap, it's been well known since at least the early 90's.
See the Howie B Haury B remix of Discotheque for the prime example.
And on topic, I think there is something to be said for this idea - though it is dangerous to think about it too much. If electronica is on their minds in picking Artificial's tracklisting, then it does say something.
But for my money, the new version of Winter might be a better indication of where they're headed, since it appears to have been finished post-No Line.