While machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have been used in supply chain applications for some time, there is an ongoing arms race to more effectively leverage both machine learning and artificial intelligence in demand planning solutions in new ways. Demand planning is one of the key applications in supply chain planning (SCP) suites. In ARC's recent global market study on this market, demand applications account for just under a third of a $2 billion plus market. And these applications are often the wedge purchase; the SCP solution that is first implemented by a company that then goes on to purchase other solutions in the suite. Machine learning works by taking the output of an application (for example, a forecast), examining that output against some measure of the truth, and then adjusting the parameters or math involved in generating the output (forecast), and seeing if the adjustments lead to more accurate outputs.

Equipment at the Custom Group in Woburn, Mass., includes automated robotic cutting tools. Equipment at the Custom Group in Woburn, Mass., includes automated robotic cutting tools. But critics say maybe it should have been named the Tax Cut and Robots Act. That's because it doesn't create new tax incentives that specifically encourage companies to hire workers and create jobs, some employers and economists say. But it does expand incentives for companies to buy robots and machines that replace workers. Republicans say that lowering taxes will boost the economy and spur job creation.

Quick quiz: what do you visualize when you hear the word robot? Or perhaps one of the massive, spiderlike machines that assemble complex products ranging from automobiles to computers?

The New Jersey bill would make operating a drone under the influence of alcohol a disorderly persons offense, which carries a sentence of up to six months in prison, a $1,000 fine or both. It also would make using a drone to hunt wildlife and endanger people or property a similar offense.

Your brain is one enigmatic hunk of meat--a wildly complex web of neurons numbering in the tens of billions. But years ago, when you were in the womb, it began as little more than a scattering of undifferentiated stem cells. A series of genetic signals transformed those blank slates into the wrinkly, three-pound mass between your ears. Scientists think the way your brain looks and functions can be traced back to those first molecular marching orders--but precisely when and where these genetic signals occur has been difficult to pin down. Today, things are looking a little less mysterious.

Pretend for a minute you're the captain of a ship that's being attacked by enemy cannons. Now – say something funny. Making up jokes on the spot is a real test of wits. Yet two comedians have developed an improv show in which many of the ad-libbed gags are delivered by a toy robot. In the last couple of years this unlikely comedy trio – known as HumanMachine – has performed 30 times to nearly 3000 people at comedy festivals in the UK and Canada.

If you've become fond of Alexa, a new pair of wireless headphones lets you take Amazon's digital assistant with you on the run -- literally. "When (Apple co-founder) Steve Jobs announced the iPod, the pitch was: A thousand songs in your pocket. Now, it's 20 million songs at the sound of your voice," said 66 Audio CEO and founder Kristian Kay. "You can ask Alexa to play you any song from multiple services ... and instantly, without ever touching your phone, you have this unlimited jukebox where you now can listen to any music that you want, on demand." This is just the latest evolution of Alexa-enabled technology.

Carmaker Nissan plans to test self-driving taxis on Japanese roads from March next year. The company is partnering with Japanese software company DeNA, which operates online services for the gaming, healthcare and automotive industries. It will adapt a Nissan Leaf electric car, which passengers will summon using an app. Nissan joins a growing band of carmakers trialling self-drive cars, including General Motors and Volvo. The free trials will be held over a two-week period in March in Yokohama.