This week, we have launched the first in a series of reports on artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact in driving the digital transformation of biopharma. This overview report, Intelligent biopharma: Forging the links across the value chain, explores the challenges and opportunities in AI adoption and the potential ways that AI might impact the different segments of the biopharma value chain (see Figure 1).1 The pace and scale of medical and scientific innovation, together with increasing competition, lengthening R&D cycle times, shorter time in market, expiring patents, declining peak sales, pressure around reimbursement and mounting regulatory scrutiny are challenging the existing biopharma business and operating models. These challenges have also had a massively negative impact on the expected return on investment that large biopharma companies expect to achieve from their late-stage pipelines. Consequently, companies are looking to digital transformation as a key differentiator and essential part of their change management strategy. AI technologies are some of the most anticipated of these digital technologies.

GNW The global artificial intelligence (AI) in retail market attained $720.0 million in 2018 and is predicted to witness a CAGR of 35.4% during 2019–2024 (forecast period). The factors contributing to the growth of the market include the increasing investments in AI by retail companies and expanding e-retail industry. With AI, retailers have been able to automate their work processes, study consumer behavior, and capture relevant data through the adoption of numerous advanced technologies, such as machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and computer vision. When technology is considered, the AI in retail market is divided into computer vision, NLP, machine learning, and others (which include gesture recognition and analytics). Machine learning generated the highest revenue during the historical period (2014–2018) and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period as well.

Text to Image Synthesis refers to the process of automatic generation of a photo-realistic image starting from a given text and is revolutionizing many real-world applications. In order to perform such process it is necessary to exploit datasets containing captioned images, meaning that each image is associated with one (or more) captions describing it. Despite the abundance of uncaptioned images datasets, the number of captioned datasets is limited. To address this issue, in this paper we propose an approach capable of generating images starting from a given text using conditional GANs trained on uncaptioned images dataset. In particular, uncaptioned images are fed to an Image Captioning Module to generate the descriptions. Then, the GAN Module is trained on both the input image and the machine-generated caption. To evaluate the results, the performance of our solution is compared with the results obtained by the unconditional GAN. For the experiments, we chose to use the uncaptioned dataset LSUN bedroom. The results obtained in our study are preliminary but still promising.

O LIVE, is focusing on the innovative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to impact everyday lives in the MENA region. At GITEX 2019, BIGO will be demonstrating its use of AI-enabled processes across applications such as its facial detection and recognition system as well as its content management system to ensure high levels of quality content served to its millions of users across the region. AI is one of the mega-trends at GITEX 2019, the region's leading technology event. Under the theme, 'Synergising the mind and technology economy', the 2019 edition of the technology showcase will spotlight the wide impact of AI across every sphere, calling it'the brain at the core of all emerging technology'. Offering a suite of entertaining and interactive video applications that are popular across the MENA region, BIGO has built AI into core areas of its technology portfolio.

Founded in 1990, the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Visiting Professors and Scholars Program honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King by increasing the presence of, and recognizing the contributions of, underrepresented minority scholars at MIT. MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars enhance their scholarship through intellectual engagement with the MIT community and enrich the cultural, academic, and professional experience of students. Six scholars are visiting MIT this academic year as part of the program. Kasso Okoudjou is returning for a second year as an MLK Visiting Professor in the Department of Mathematics. Originally from Benin, he moved to the United States in 1998 and earned a PhD in mathematics from Georgia Tech. Okoudjou joins MIT from the University of Maryland College Park, where he is a professor.

GNW The global artificial intelligence (AI) in retail market attained $720.0 million in 2018 and is predicted to witness a CAGR of 35.4% during 2019–2024 (forecast period). The factors contributing to the growth of the market include the increasing investments in AI by retail companies and expanding e-retail industry. With AI, retailers have been able to automate their work processes, study consumer behavior, and capture relevant data through the adoption of numerous advanced technologies, such as machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and computer vision. When technology is considered, the AI in retail market is divided into computer vision, NLP, machine learning, and others (which include gesture recognition and analytics). Machine learning generated the highest revenue during the historical period (2014–2018) and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period as well.

From Mexican immigrant to MIT, from Girl Power in Latin America to robotics entrepreneurs in Africa and India, the 2019 annual "women in robotics you need to know about" list is here! We've featured 150 women so far, from 2013 to 2018, and this time we're not stopping at 25. We're featuring 30 inspiring #womeninrobotics because robotics is growing and there are many new stories to be told. So, without further ado, here are the 30 Women In Robotics you need to know about – 2019 edition! There are 150 more stories on our 2013 to 2018 lists. Why not nominate someone for inclusion next year!

In developing artificial intelligence for use on the battlefield and throughout the defense enterprise, the U.S. military is challenging China and other adversaries to a multigenerational contest. At stake is nothing less than global dominance in the fast-arriving digital future. "We are in a contest for the character of the international order in the digital age," Air Force Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, director of the Pentagon's new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told reporters at a recent briefing. "Our potential adversaries are moving very deliberately towards a future of artificial intelligence." To get an edge on the competition, the U.S. military plans to "democratize" access to AI development tools across the Defense Department, through a collaborative, cloud-based platform called the Joint Common Foundation.

Academics and startups from Imperial College London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology presented their innovative ideas at a conference. Co-organised by Imperial Business Partners and MIT, the Innovation Journeys Conference brought together industry leaders, academics and startups from both universities to explore and share the latest technological innovations and research. Imperial Business Partners offers a unique approach to problem-solving for research-driven industries via accelerated access to Imperial's expertise, talent and facilities. Imperial's Director of Enterprise Simon Hepworth discussed the university's role in the entrepreneurial journey, saying it is present at all stages, whether that's for students or staff. The College's enterprising ecosystem is vast, ranging from academic ventures, entrepreneurship competitions and programmes such as WeInnovate and the Enterprise Lab, which supports student innovation.

From Mexican immigrant to MIT, from Girl Power in Latin America to robotics entrepreneurs in Africa and India, the 2019 annual "women in robotics you need to know about" list is here! We've featured 150 women so far, from 2013 to 2018, and this time we're not stopping at 25. We're featuring 30 badass #womeninrobotics because robotics is growing and there are many new stories to be told. So, without further ado, here are the 30 Women In Robotics you need to know about – 2019 edition! There are 150 more stories on our 2013 to 2018 lists. Why not nominate someone for inclusion next year!