Researchers at the Research Center for IT Innovation of Academia Sinica, in Taiwan, have recently developed a novel generative adversarial network (GAN) that has binary neurons at the output layer of the generator. This model, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, can directly generate binary-valued predictions at test time. So far, GAN approaches have achieved remarkable results in modeling continuous distributions. Nonetheless, applying GANs to discrete data has been somewhat challenging so far, particularly due to difficulties in optimizing the model distribution toward the target data distribution in a high-dimensional discrete space. Hao-Wen Dong, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Tech Xplore, "I am currently working on music generation in the Music and AI Lab at Academia Sinica. In my opinion, composing can be interpreted as a series of decisions--for instance, regarding the instrumentation, chords and even the exact notes to use. To move toward achieving the grand vision of a solid AI composer, I am particularly interested in whether deep generative models such as GANs are able to make decisions. Therefore, this work examined whether we can train a GAN that uses binary neurons to make binary decisions using backpropagation, the standard training algorithm."

Facebook has completely redesigned its Messenger app, taking away its old mass of features and aiming to make it more simple. The company has got rid of the nine tabs and variety of options that greeted users who opened up its chat app and has instead swapped them for just three tabs. It hasn't done so by removing features. Instead, those have been moved into an easier follow format that Facebook hopes will make the app easier to navigate around. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

The way we look at learning and education has been changing in recent times. Newer subjects like artificial intelligence are gaining more popularity as technology evolves at a rapid pace. However, getting the first-hand experience and understanding these newly developing subjects becomes extremely difficult for professionals. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are enablers that increase our productivity, but what is the best way to learn these new and evolving topics? UpGrad's PG program in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with IIIT-Bangalore has been ranked No 1 by Analytics India Magazine.

Analytics India Magazine brings you the annual list of the top data scientists in India, for the fourth year in a row. We have been identifying the ingenious minds in the world of data science and analytics who are also driving the innovations across various industries in India. From building analytics team to bringing newer processes in the working, the data scientists listed here have been instrumental in changing the face of the organisation. We have considered data scientists working with an organisation or independently, irrespective of size and nature of work. Here's the list of top 10 data scientists, to draw some inspiration and motivation from.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) has empowered computers to manipulate human language to generate text, extract meaning, and make interactions easier through voice-enabled AI and conversational intelligence technologies. The tasks performed by NLP are categorized according to the priority of the task that needs to be accomplished by a machine including summarizing a long document, detecting spam email or translating between two human languages. In recent times, NLP has made great strides in making a difference in the way business enterprises function. NLP has been applied to various applications as it offers speech recognition by converting spoken language into text, answers questions through chatbots, sentiment analysis and the art of placing revenue selling ads on social media, e-commerce offering custom market intelligence solutions, a key performance driver for business organizations. The year 2018 and beyond is bright for Natural Language Processing Companies.

You may think artists would be among the last to be replaced by robots. Well, this week an artwork generated by artificial intelligence will be auctioned for the first time, while a paint ing by a machine has won an international prize. The first, Portrait of Edmond de Belamy (2018), is a print depicting a ghostly image of a man that is valued at US$7,000 to US$10,000 in Christie's' prints and multiples sale on October 25 in New York. It was entirely the creation of an algorithm, the code of which was written by Parisian collective the Obvious artists, who identify themselves as the "publisher" of the painting. The other work is a sitting nude titled The Butcher's Son, a name chosen by Mario Klingemann.

The future won't be made by either humans or machines alone – but by both, working together. Technologies modeled on how human brains work are already augmenting people's abilities, and will only get more influential as society gets used to these increasingly capable machines. Technology optimists have envisioned a world with rising human productivity and quality of life as artificial intelligence systems take over life's drudgery and administrivia, benefiting everyone. Pessimists, on the other hand, have warned that these advances could come at great cost in lost jobs and disrupted lives. And fearmongers worry that AI might eventually make human beings obsolete.

In the spring of 2016, an artificial intelligence system called AlphaGo defeated a world champion Go player in a match at the Four Seasons hotel in Seoul. In the US, this momentous news required some unpacking. Most Americans were unfamiliar with Go, an ancient Asian game that involves placing black and white stones on a wooden board. And the technology that had emerged victorious was even more foreign: a form of AI called machine learning, which uses large data sets to train a computer to recognize patterns and make its own strategic choices. Still, the gist of the story was familiar enough.

When turkeys strut, their leg muscles work as shock absorbers to boost energy efficiency. That gam action inspired a prosthetic exoskeleton for humans: The lightweight contraption is outfitted with a spring and clutch that take the impact off the user's calf muscle. In experiments, a person wearing the braces while walking expended 10 percent less energy. Neurons along the creature's spinal cord can act independently via signals called central pattern generators, or CPGs. A slithering machine inspired by the lamprey, the AmphiBot, has 10 body modules, each with its own onboard computer that mimics a CPG.

President and co-founder of US-based technology firm NVIDIA Corporation Jensen Huang Monday said artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to democratise innovation by commoditising software. He was speaking at the fourth edition of the NITI Lecture Series, which among others was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "At the 4th #NITILecture, Mr Huang of @nvidia explained how AI's power like in automating the process of automation itself. How it can write code for complex use-cases by learning from examples. "The panel discussion during the 4th #NITILecture emphasised how since #AI is heavily context dependent, it is important to evolve India-specific nuanced & inclusive solutions.