SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The nightmare scenario for computer security - artificial intelligence programs that can learn how to evade even the best defenses - may already have arrived. That warning from security researchers is driven home by a team from IBM Corp. (IBM.N) who have used the artificial intelligence technique known as machine learning to build hacking programs that could slip past top-tier defensive measures. The group will unveil details of its experiment at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. State-of-the-art defenses generally rely on examining what the attack software is doing, rather than the more commonplace technique of analyzing software code for danger signs. But the new genre of AI-driven programs can be trained to stay dormant until they reach a very specific target, making them exceptionally hard to stop.

Maintaining data reliability is a resource-intensive, uphill task for many organizations. Companies often spend too much effort on data reviews and cleanup, but seldom seem to catch up. Most of the time, teams don't even know what the issues are, how to look for them and how to solve them. They just know that the data is dirty, and like sitting on a ticking time bomb, we wait for the disaster to happen. The issues are often only illuminated when the data is put to operational use and trips up the end user or the customer with wrong information.

Job creation in the Middle East remains paramount as a lever to enable prosperity and sustainability. However, advances in automation, technology and specifically robotics and AI, continue to have a significant impact on jobs and on the workforce. So, how much will be replacement of humans vs. an augmentation of skills? And is it possible that Hollywood-like dystopian scenarios, such as the Matrix or Terminator, could become a reality? The truth is, the threat of jobs being replaced by new technology has always been there.

In a world where self-driving cars are taking to the roads and computers are having casual conversations with salon receptionists, it's easy to forget that many companies are still working hard on solutions for low-tech, everyday problems. You'd think we'd have that nailed by now, but as Panasonic's newest launch demonstrates, there's still a lot of innovation to be had in this arena. Forget simply slapping a couple of scented insoles into your kicks -- Panasonic, the brains behind the deodorizing coat hanger, wants the business of shoe deodorizing to be a tech experience. The catchily-titled MS-DS100 is a shoe freshening device that emits ion particles containing hydroxyl radicals to dissolve and eliminate stinky odors. Plop the gadget into your shoe, and the particles are emitted from six --six!

Nintendo sparked fears for the future of Luigi after it showed Mario's brother being graphically killed and its sole tearing itself from his body. But the company has acted to ensure that fans don't worry about the character and tweeted that he is "okay". Luigi's violent death came as part of the live Nintendo Direct broadcast this week, which showed footage from the upcoming Super Smash Bros game. One of the many announcements revealed during that stream was that the game would include levels and characters from the Castlevania games. 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.

Watching an AI train, for those of us who aren't developers, is about as exciting as watching paint dry or grass grow. But, every once in a while someone throws some ninjas into the mix and makes it fun. An AI programmer who goes by the GitHub handle Ash47 recently published a series of projects designed to demonstrate how machines learn. He creates psuedo-gaming environments where AI has to accomplish a simple goal: stay alive. The most interesting thing about the AI in his projects isn't what they can do, it's how they learn to do it.

I Know First was selected from over 200 companies to be part of the fintech showroom in Tokyo, Japan on May 23rd, 2018. The showroom event, as well as a housewarming party, were hosted by JIAM (Japan International Asset Management Consortium, where I Know First presented their Algorithmic AI solutions using machine-learning algorithms. As part of the showroom event, I Know First gave a short pitch under 5 minutes followed by a deeper dive and demo if visiting client were interested. JIAM are a not-for-profit organization, which assists international asset management firms, asset management technology firms and talented financial professionals in tapping into the Japanese market. Through collaboration with Japanese government agencies (primarily the Tokyo Metropolitan Government) and industry associations, JIAM's goal is to bolster the Japanese asset management industry and support firms and individuals associated with it.

NEC has announced that it will provide a large-scale facial recognition system for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The system will be used to identify over 300,000 people at the games, including athletes, volunteers, media, and other staff. It's the first time that facial recognition technology will be used for this purpose at an Olympic Games. NEC's system is built around an AI engine called NeoFace, which is part of the company's overarching Bio-IDiom line of biometric authentication technology. The Tokyo 2020 implementation will involve linking photo data with an IC card to be carried by accredited people.

A fire-breathing Dragon, which looks similar to a creature from Harry Potter's movie. The Alpha1S robots are 16 inches high, weighs just 1.63kgs, looks pretty much exactly what science fiction told us. It is developed at the National Institute of Technology, Nara College in Chiba, Japan. They are leading manufacturers of the various type of industrial robots. Spyce Robot delivers salads and grain bowls in three minutes or less.

SEATTLE, July 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DefinedCrowd Corp., a smart data company for AI, announced the closing of a $11.8M Series A funding round today. Led by New-York/Zurich based Evolution Equity Partners, the round brought in Kibo Ventures, Mastercard and EDP (Energias de Portugal) as new investors, and secured additional capital from current investors Sony, Portugal Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund, and Busy Angels. "DefinedCrowd's SaaS platform has very quickly positioned the company as an innovative leader to solve AI/ML's global most pressing problem, the need for continuous access to highly accurate data. Evolution Equity Partners is honored to lead this growth-targeted Series A round that comes at an inflection point for DefinedCrowd to manage its triple digit revenue growth trajectory and customer on-boarding globally," says Dennis Smith, Founder and Managing Partner at Evolution Equity Partners and the newest member of DefinedCrowd's Board of Directors. The capital secured in this Series A round will be used to develop DefinedCrowd's product offerings, expand the team, and rapidly increase market-share globally.