A recent scientific survey off the coast of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia suggests that some shallow water corals may be less vulnerable to global warming than previously thought. Between 2014 and 2017, the world's reefs endured the worst coral bleaching event in history, as the cyclical El Niño climate event combined with anthropogenic warming to cause unprecedented increases in water temperature. But the June survey, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's family foundation, found the Sulawesi reefs were surprisingly healthy. In fact they were in better condition than when they were originally surveyed in 2014 - a surprise for British scientist Dr Emma Kennedy, who led the research team. "After several depressing years as a coral reef scientist, witnessing the worst-ever global coral bleaching event, it is unbelievably encouraging to experience reefs such as these," she said.

TechRepublic's Dan Patterson sat down with Caleb Barlow, IBM Security Vice President to discuss how AI, IoT, and big data will shape the future of cybersecurity. The following is an edited transcript of the interview. Dan Patterson: What is the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT), the data that may or may not be wiped from the GDPR, and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning? If we look at all of those trends combined, each one of those is a macro trend that will have its own lifecycle. But they are interwoven: IoT, machine learning, and security.

Society is rife with fears about the future of AI. For some, like Richard Branson and Ray Dalio, it's AI's exacerbation of the wealth gap and the looming social crisis it could bring about. My worry for AI, however, is that we are vilifying a technology that may in fact be our single greatest resource for creating a just world--if we build it right. While there do exist serious ethical conundrums and uncertainties regarding the potential for artificial superintelligence, at the moment, what we are facing on Earth is mostly a complex assemblage of human problems. It is true that automation is contributing to the increasing inequality within most countries, with the income gap widening between each country's educated middle and upper classes and their less-educated lower classes.

Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood shared that his mother would say, in times of crisis, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." This advice holds true when looking at the potential for artificial intelligence to change the world. People are using technological advances to create and experiment with innovative approaches to global issues that have affected humanity for generations. The plight of displaced persons, the global food crisis and natural disasters are real challenges people face every day.

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics plans to spend $22 billion over the next three years on artificial intelligence, auto components and other future businesses as the company maps out its strategy under the restored leadership of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong after he was freed from prison. The announcement Wednesday by South Korea's biggest business group was welcome news, coming at a time of deepening unease over slowing growth in Asia's fourth largest economy. It also highlights that South Korea's decades-old reliance on big businesses for jobs and investments is unlikely to end anytime soon since the country lacks a strong pool of small and medium-sized companies found in Japan or Germany. Samsung said it will spend the sum, amounting to 25 trillion won, on hiring artificial intelligence researchers, ensuring it will be a global player in next generation telecoms technology called 5G and deepening its involvement in electronic components for future cars. Some of the funding will go to Samsung's biopharmaceutical businesses.

A look at how Yemen's brutal civil war is creating a market for prosthetic limbs. Each is missing a vital part of their body – a hand, a leg, an arm. Inside that building is new hope for each: Prosthetic limbs are being cut, carved, melted and molded. Young patient recently outfitted with a new leg waits for his training session outside the Ma'rib prosthetics center in Yemen (Fox News/Hollie McKay) "Sometimes I go to my office to cry for each of these miserable stories," Dr. Haitham Ahmed Ali Ahmed, a Sudanese volunteer with Physicians Across Continents, told Fox News. "It isn't fair, but we do whatever we can to give them another chance."

Being stuck on the phone with call centers is painful. Observe.AI is one company that wants to make the experience more bearable, and it's raised $8 million to develop an artificial intelligence system that it believes will do just that. The funding round was led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from MGV, Liquid 2 Ventures and Hack VC. Existing investors Emergent Ventures and Y Combinator also took part -- Observe.AI was part of the YC's winter 2018 batch. The India-U.S. startup was founded last year with the goal of solving a very personal problem for founders Swapnil Jain (CEO), Akash Singh (CTO) and Sharath Keshava (CRO): making call centers better.

Superagents are self-assured and self-aware. They set out on every mission with our incredibly sophisticated AI and get better, faster, stronger. Superagents make every experience count. Our AI toolkit arms superagents with all they need to make efficient and purposeful calls with customers. Leverage the power of AI for Dollar savings and significantly improved quality measurement and assurance.

AI is massively transforming our world, but there's one thing it cannot do: love. In a visionary talk, computer scientist Kai-Fu Lee details how the US and China are driving a deep learning revolution -- and shares a blueprint for how humans can thrive in the age of AI by harnessing compassion and creativity. "AI is serendipity," Lee says. "It is here to liberate us from routine jobs, and it is here to remind us what it is that makes us human."

EVERYTIME a new job is posted, CVs from hopeful candidates pour in – all of whom think they're the right man for the job. However, often, their CV is rejected right off the bat, based on a bias that the recruiter has. Some recruiters even justify this as their'gut instinct'. "Even with the best intentions, hiring decisions can still be influenced by personal factors we may not even be aware of," said Dell's Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Brian Reaves. Unfortunately, biases have quite a significant impact on candidates and the company.