Every second of every day, companies are inundated by massive volumes of data from diverse sources: sensor data, clickstream data, location data, social data, video data, and so forth. But the pace at which enterprises can leverage this data to sense and respond intelligently to customers lags well behind the pace at which data is exploding. Fortunately, advances in marketing automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling enterprises to respond to the data challenge. We are at the threshold of a new era in marketing that I call sentient marketing - a vision for customer engagement that is powered by data, scaled with automation, and personalized through AI. Sentient marketing is a set of capabilities and processes that enable enterprises to create personalized customer engagement at scale and in real-time. Sentient marketing originates from the broader vision that my co-author Oliver Ratzesberger and I wrote about in our recent book, The Sentient Enterprise: The Evolution of Business Decision Making.

New York (CNN Business)Artificial intelligence and machine learning might sound like the stuff of sci-fi movies. But hedge funds, major banks and private equity firms are already deploying next-generation technologies to gain an edge. Citigroup (C) uses machine learning to make portfolio recommendations to clients. High-frequency trading firms rely on machine learning tools to rapidly read and react to financial markets. And quant shops like PanAgora Asset Management have developed complex algorithms to test sophisticated investment ideas.

A company operating a facial recognition system in China has exposed millions of residents' personal information online. Shenzen-based SenseNets is an artificial intelligence company that uses a network of tracking cameras to spot people and log their movements in its database. Unfortunately, the company exposed that information publicly online allowing anyone to access the information in plain text, it emerged this week. Dutch cybersecurity researcher Victor Gevers found the vulnerable database online and tweeted about it. There is this company in China named SenseNets.

There is no shortage of advances in AI these days especially as it relates to Deep Learning. From "Everybody dance now" where an AI-based Transfer Motion can make you appear to dance like a star, to an AI-based News Anchor in China that reads the daily news with impressive facial expressions and voice inflection much like a human. For Healthcare there has been much advances in medical imaging analysis from diagnostic imaging, to diabetic retinopathy, etc. to name a few. This is great news, but I believe more can be done, specifically as it relates to the use of AI in physician and hospital settings. The following are 3 practical ways to think about AI in healthcare.

Imagine giving parameters like population, area and climatic conditions to a machine and in turn getting the design of a complete city. Yes, it is that simple and would be a reality by the end of 2019! Town planning requires a lot of effort, skill, time and cost. Some of the challenges faced during this planning include population growth, infrastructure cost, environmental considerations and what not. I could go on listing the challenges but I'm sure you all can comprehend with the point I'm trying to make here.

A screen shows visitors being filmed by AI (Artificial Intelligence) security cameras with facial recognition technology at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security in Beijing. A Chinese surveillance firm using facial recognition technology left one of its databases exposed online for months, according to a prominent security researcher. A massive database for 2,565,724 people -- with names, ID card number, expiration date, home address, date of birth, nationality, gender, photograph, employer and GPS coordinates of locations -- was left online without authentication, according to a report from ZDNet. Security researcher Victor Gevers, who founded the database, told ZDNet that over a 24-hour period, a steady stream of nearly 6.7 million GPS coordinates was recorded, which means the database was actively tracking Uyghur Muslims as they moved around Xinjiang province in China. HOW AMAZON'S JEFF BEZOS AND THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER WENT TO WAR Human rights groups have said that China is keeping hundreds of thousands of Uyghur Muslims in internment camps, where they are indoctrinated, forced to perform labor and detained.

Voice assistant technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but security experts say it comes with some uniquely invasive risks. Since the beginning of the year, multiple Nest security camera users have reported instances of strangers hacking into and issuing voice commands to Alexa, falsely announcing a North Korean missile attack, and targeting one family by speaking directly to their child, turning up their home thermostat to 90 degrees, and shouting insults. These incidents are alarming, but the potential for silent compromises of voice assistants could be even more damaging. Nest owner Google -- which recently integrated Google Assistant support into Nest control hubs -- has blamed weak user passwords and a lack of two-factor authentication for the attacks. But even voice assistants with strong security may be vulnerable to stealthier forms of hacking.

On an isolated stretch of industrial flatland outside Knoxville, Tenn., a minibus is taking shape in a car factory unlike any other. The space is small, the size of a supermarket, and all but tool-free. Instead, perched in the center is the world's largest 3D printer, a gangly 10-by-40-foot behemoth with a steel-gray exterior, thick columnar footings, and derrick-like roof beams to true its frame. When the print heads are in motion, the equipment emits little more than a whisper, dexterously cutting sharp angles and rounded edges. Programmers on laptops and quality-control experts with tablets mill around, inputting design changes and fine-tuning the minibus's sensor instructions. Beyond the assembly room lies a kind of alchemist's playground, where young staffers with advanced degrees in materials science and mechanical engineering synthesize nanopolymers or test exotic particles for strength or thermal and electrical conductivity. The minibus, named Olli, is the latest offbeat product from Local Motors Inc., an 11-year-old startup.

Systems that can classify a person's emotion from their voice and facial tics alone are a longstanding goal of some AI researchers. Firms like Affectiva, which recently launched a product that scans drivers' faces and voices to monitor their mood, are moving the needle in the right direction. But considerable challenges remain, owing to nuances in speech and muscle movements. Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei claim to have made progress, though. In a paper published on the preprint server Arxiv.org this week ("Deep Fusion: An Attention Guided Factorized Bilinear Pooling for Audio video Emotion Recognition"), they describe an AI system that can recognize a person's emotional state with state-of-the-art accuracy on a popular benchmark.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the'backstory" of how you decided to pursue this career path? My education and the different roles I have held throughout my scientific career, have led me to my current position. It perfectly combines the skills I have acquired in both drug discovery and cannabinoid research. I consider the implementation of AI in my research as another feature of scientific growth, which is a MUST due to the continued advancement of technology. What lessons can others learn from your story? Each role I have held in my past has contributed to my current position. My advice for fellow scientists is to be persistent. Know what your heart desires and keep going till you get there. Thinking outside the box is another important element. You must always realize that in order to succeed, you have to be open and engage in technology advancements. You have to be open to learning collaborating and developing. Can you tell our readers about the ...