It's become increasingly clear that quantum computers won't have a single moment when they become clearly superior to classical hardware. Instead, we're likely to see them becoming useful for a narrow set of problems and then gradually expand out from there to an increasing range of computations. The question obviously becomes one of where the utility will be seen first. The quantum-computing startup Rigetti now has a white paper that identifies, at least theoretically, a case when quantum hardware should offer an advantage. And it is actually useful: replacing a neural network that's used for analyzing weather data.

Twitch is furthering its efforts to reduce harassment with a new tool that uses machine learning to detect people who may be attempting to evade bans. It's the company's latest addition to combat things like hate raids, where streamers' chats are overrun with trolls sending hateful messages. The new tool, called Suspicious User Detection, can identify users as "likely" or "possible" people who have evaded bans from a streamer's channel. The machine learning model powering the tool identifies potential evaders by evaluating things such as their behavior and characteristics about their account and compares that information against accounts that have been banned from a streamer's channel. Messages from "likely" evaders won't be sent to chat, but streamers and their mods can see them.

Microsoft unveils big-data-capable SQL Server 2019 and extended AI capabilities to power data-driven innovation. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella set the tone at the September 24-27 Ignite events in Orlando by sharing at least half a dozen stories of leading companies innovating and pioneering new business models with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). It was a crisp, one-hour presentation long on vision and surprisingly short on promotion or even mentions of the significant technology announcements that followed. Nadella warned the more than 30,000 attendees that the ability to innovate and drive new business models is as much or more about changing corporate cultures and business processes as it is about applying technology. And when the technology decisions are ready to be made, Nadella counselled executives to know which capabilities are commodities and which warrant custom development to drive differentiation.

Clearview AI is on track to receive a US patent for its facial recognition technology, according to a report from Politico. The company was reportedly sent a "notice of allowance" by the US Patent and Trademark Office, which means that once it pays the required administration fees, its patent will be officially approved. Clearview AI builds its facial recognition database using images of people that it scrapes across social media (and the internet in general), a practice that has the company steeped in controversy. The company's patent application details its use of a "web crawler" to acquire images, even noting that "online photos associated with a person's account may help to create additional records of facial recognition data points," which its machine learning algorithm can then use to find and identify matches. Critics argue that Clearview AI's facial recognition technology is a violation of privacy and that it may negatively impact minority communities.

Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Harvard researcher Sam Kriegman about xenobots, the self-replicating robots he helped create.

Video games make for great stocking stuffers for kids and kids at heart. But with so many console and computer titles to choose from, shopping for a gamer can be an overwhelming endeavor. After all, no one wants to gift a dud that will quickly become a drink coaster or shiny Christmas ornament. If you're looking for some suggestions, the following are a handful of recommended gaming picks – a very subjective look at some of 2021's best – divided into various age groups. Prices are $60 unless otherwise specified.

You've probably heard of Transitions lenses that can adapt to changing light conditions. Now, get ready for facial recognition lenses. Police officers in Zhengzhou, China have been spotted wearing sunglasses equipped with facial recognition software that allows them to identify individuals in a crowd. These surveillance sunglasses were actually rolled out last year, but a recent report from China's QQ published a series of photos of the glasses in action. China has consistently been ahead of the curve in terms of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) for surveillance. The country's CCTV system tracked down a BBC reporter in just seven minutes during a demonstration in 2017.

Qualcomm today at its Snapdragon Summit 2021 announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to bring the latter's Neural Architecture Search to Qualcomm platforms. The move is designed to speed up the development of AI models at the edge. Qualcomm claims the announcement will make it the first system-on-a-chip (SoC) customer to offer the Google Cloud Vertex AI Neural Architecture Search services. It will first be available on the Snapdragon 8, Gen 1 Mobile Platform, followed by the Snapdragon portfolio across mobile, IoT, automotive, and XR platforms. As AI/ML hardware has become more widespread, attention has turned to the software stack, which often consists of point solutions.

Since 2018, Health Canada has undertaken an initiative to adapt its regulatory approach to better support digital health technologies, specifically medical devices. Key focus areas include artificial intelligence, software as a medical device, cybersecurity, medical device interoperability, wireless medical devices, mobile medical apps and telemedicine. To meet this goal, Health Canada established the Digital Health Division under the Medical Devices Bureau and has been increasing its efforts to build in-house expertise. On October 27, 2021, Health Canada, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) jointly published the Good Machine Learning Practice for Medical Device Development: Guiding Principles. The document consists of 10 guiding principles to help promote safe, effective, and high-quality use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in medical devices.

ISM001-055 demonstrated highly promising results in multiple preclinical studies including in vitro biological studies, pharmacokinetic and safety studies. The compound significantly improved myofibroblast activation which contributes to the development of fibrosis. ISM001-055's novel target is potentially relevant to a broad range of fibrotic indications. "We are very pleased to see Insilico Medicine's first antifibrotic drug candidate entering into the clinic. We believe this is a significant milestone in the history of AI-powered drug discovery because to our knowledge the drug candidate is the first ever AI-discovered novel molecule based on an AI-discovered novel target. We have leveraged our end-to-end AI-powered drug discovery platform, including the usage of generative biology and generative chemistry, to discover novel biological targets and generate novel molecules with drug-like properties. ISM001-055 is the first such compound to enter the clinic, and we expect more to come in the near future," said Feng Ren, Ph.D., CSO of Insilico Medicine.