Launched in 2015, Made in China 2025(MIC 2025) is the Chinese government's ten-year plan to update China's manufacturing base by focussing on the country's ten high tech industries. The strategy focuses to outline Beijing's aspirations to dominate the global economy of the future, in pivot areas like new energy vehicles, advanced robotics, next-generation information technology (IT) and telecommunications, robotics and artificial intelligence. In the domain of industrial robots, China has earmarked new development plans and is making impressive progress. Conditions are ideal in China for building a thriving robotics industry, serving both the domestic and overseas market. First, the Chinese government's efforts to bring the country into the global map by offering generous tax breaks and subsidies to robotics startups.

Google's India-born chief executive Sundar Pichai quietly paid a visit to the Pentagon to ease tensions that erupted after employee outrage prompted the tech giant to sever a controversial defence contract to analyse drone video, according to a media report. Pichai met with a group of civilian and military leaders mostly from the office of the Under Secretary of Defence for Intelligence, the Defense Department directorate that oversees the artificial-intelligence drone system known as Project Maven, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the meeting, The Washington Post reported. Google had worked with the Defense Department to develop Project Maven, which uses AI to automatically tag cars, buildings and other objects in videos recorded by drones flying over conflict zones. But in June, the tech giant said it would not renew its contract following an uprising from employees, who criticized the work as helping the military track and kill with greater efficiency, the report said. A Defense Department spokesperson said, "We do not comment on the details of private meetings. Department leaders routinely meet with industry partners to discuss innovative technologies. These meetings support continuing dialogue aimed at solving future technology challenges."

A typical JD motorcycle deliveryman in Shanghai delivers 100 packages per day, racing along the city's waterfront, navigating tiny alleyways and darting between the city's skyscrapers. That may seem impressive but JD is still striving to improve motorcycle delivery efficiency with new tech -- much of it AI-powered. Shanghai is home to 24 million people and some 2 million businesses -- many of which are highly competitive tech companies. In this environment, startups must either excel quickly or risk being left behind. Rising Shanghai social E-commerce startup Pinduoduo needed just three years to reach a gross merchandise volume of 100 billion units -- it took first-generation tech giants Alibaba and JD five and ten years respectively to reach the same milestone. A half-hour subway ride from People's Square in the city centre is Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, where many Shanghai tech industries are clustered.

A smart system powered by artificial intelligence has helped the Dubai Police arrest 550 people in 2018, it was announced on Saturday. Of these, 109 were'wanted' criminals, while 441 were suspects in different crimes. The'smart area' system helped decrease the number of'disturbing crimes' from 25 reported in 2017 to one this year. The system uses face recognition cameras to flag wanted criminals and suspects. Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, assistant commander-in-chief of the Dubai Police for criminal investigation, said that the project is equipped with "state of the art smart tools to reduce crime rates". He added that the police are working to implement its'safe city' strategy using artificial intelligence and cameras that can identify faces and vehicle plate numbers.

In this special guest feature Anand Shroff, Co-founder and Chief Development Officer at Health Fidelity, discusses the reality that AI technologies can create opportunity for meaningful, productive patient-provider interactions, primarily by reducing administrative burden, and provides three examples. Anand is one of the founders of Health Fidelity and is responsible for leading corporate strategy, business development, sales, and marketing. Prior to founding Health Fidelity, Anand was Vice President of EHR and HIE products at Optum. Anand has an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley in addition to an MS in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Anand has an undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

A year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping stood before the 19th Communist Party Congress and laid out his ambitious plan for China to become a world leader by 2025 in advanced technologies such as robotics, biotechnology and artificial intelligence. It was seen as a direct challenge to U.S. leadership in advanced technology. James Lewis, a specialist in China and technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says China recognizes that technological superiority helps give the United States an edge in national security and wants in on it. "The Chinese figured out that technology is the key to wealth and power, and the source of technology is still the West for China," says Lewis. The question is: "How do they get their hands on that Western technology?"

Tiny chips inserted in US computer equipment manufactured in China were used as part of a vast effort by Beijing to steal US technology secrets, a published report said Thursday.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the verge of becoming a'bubble' in China as a large influx of money and talent heat the market, analysts and experts warn. "For the job market in China's AI sector, I see a bubble already exists now. Some practitioners in the AI industry and are paid salaries that are unfairly high," said Wang Xiaochuan, chief executive officer of Chinese internet company Sogou. "Investors expect too high a return on their investments, and the valuations of China's AI enterprises are much more expensive than those in the US." In terms of investment in AI enterprises, China was in second place in 2016 on US$2.6 billion, followed by the UK on US$800 million, according to data from Chinese think tank WuZhen Institute.

Although most people don't realize it, AI is already helping humanity to meet some growing challenges. It's being used to help us care for the elderly and take care of our children, and that's probably just the beginning. These days, there's plenty of talk about how artificial intelligence (AI) is going to impact the business processes of companies around the globe, but asking the average person about the human toll of artificial intelligence is likely to result in some vague reference to the Terminator franchise or a snarky quip about "our new robot overlords". In reality, though, artificial intelligence is already impacting the human condition in some important ways, even if people don't recognize it yet. Far from being part of some dystopian future story, AI is already being applied to solve some significant looming societal issues. Much of the development is happening somewhat under the radar, and it spans a number of industries from healthcare to education.