Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology researchers havedeveloped a new way to predict how a plant will grow, based on two-dimensional and three-dimensional images. Researchers at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in Russia have developed a method for predicting increasing biomass of a plant using two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images, which they say will improve the efficiency of precision farming. The research team initially measured plant growth in an artificial soil-free system with a 3D camera, and established the relationship between growth in total biomass and the expansion of the total surface area of a plant's leaves. They then measured the increase in total leaf area with a 2D camera and built a dynamic plant growth model based on the data. Using both 2D and 3D cameras eliminates time-consuming multi-parameter calculations.

Of all corporate functions, sales by its very nature is surely the most people-focused. While it may no longer involve quite as much face-to-face interaction as it once did, selling has remained emphatically a job for people rather than machines. However, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning are already starting to make major inroads into the sales process, adding an extra dimension to everything from marketing automation to customer relationship management. According to Salesforce Research, high-performing teams are at least twice as likely to be using intelligent sales technologies such as artificial intelligence, sentiment analysis, next-step analysis and deep-learning. So, what further changes in the sales environment can we expect to see over the coming years?

India is considering the military usage of Artificial Intelligence for national security and military strategic purposes and the government is studying a report recommending the duel use of technology in aviation, naval, land systems, cyber, nuclear and biological warfare. Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Lok Sabha that the ministry has initiated the process of preparing Indian defence forces in their use of Artificial Intelligence and leveraging India's capabilities in machine learning sectors. This, he said, has a potential to fuel technology driven economic growth and provide military superiority. To study the strategic implications of Artificial Intelligence on national security, a multi-stakeholder task force comprising the government, services, academia, industry, professionals and startups was constituted in February this year. The group led by Natarajan Chandrasekharan, Chairman Tata Sons, was tasked to prepare a road map for Artificial Intelligence for national security purposes.

India is considering the military usage of Artificial Intelligence for national security and military strategic purposes and the government is studying a report recommending the duel use of technology in aviation, naval, land systems, cyber, nuclear and biological warfare. Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Lok Sabha that the ministry has initiated the process of preparing Indian defence forces in their use of Artificial Intelligence and leveraging India's capabilities in machine learning sectors. This, he said, has a potential to fuel technology driven economic growth and provide military superiority. To study the strategic implications of Artificial Intelligence on national security, a multi-stakeholder task force comprising the government, services, academia, industry, professionals and start-ups was constituted in February this year. The group led by Natarajan Chandrasekharan, Chairman Tata Sons, was tasked to prepare a road map for Artificial Intelligence for national security purposes.

Google may be developing a special version of its search engine that would allow certain information to disappear in China. It would not be the first time a company has done so – and it would not even be the first time Google has done so. The decision has turned fresh attention to China's internet censorship regime, so wide-ranging that it has been labelled the "Great Firewall" and so powerful that it has allowed the government to ban people from using a single letter. The suggestion that China could be partnering with the regime has been attacked by human rights campaigners and others, who suggested that Google relenting on censorship would be a "dark day", in the words of Amnesty International. It would not be the first of such days, as Google would follow a whole host of companies including LinkedIn that already censor their users as the price of operating in China.

"At this moment, it's not a particularly hospitable environment," said Mark Natkin, managing director of industry research firm Marbridge Consulting. "I'd imagine getting such a search permit would be difficult, if not impossible for the company." In the past week, Apple Inc. came under fire from Chinese state media for not doing enough to block illegal content. The week before, Qualcomm Inc. abandoned its acquisition of Dutch chip maker NXP Semiconductors NV after a deadline to gain approval in China passed. About the same time, Facebook Inc. announced plans to build an "innovation hub" for developers in eastern China--but the business license was then pulled, and the project appears to have been sidelined.

The HPC Advisory Council has posted the Agenda for their upcoming meeting in Perth, Australia. Hosted by the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, the event takes place August 28-29. The hosts have added a powerful international dialog session to the second annual conference agenda featuring an impressive list of leading HPC centres and industry representatives. This year's program also includes a wide variety of invited and contributed talks on high performance computing, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge research and development from industry notables throughout the region and beyond. The 2018 agenda also features hands-on tutorials, the latest trends, newest technologies and breakthrough works along with the latest best practices in applications, tools and techniques.

Chatbots continue to make an impact around the world, from major players in big-bucks verticals to helping fans get involved in their favourite sports. That's as developers are building the next big thing in chat. See what news is making summer even hotter for chatbots. Starting in Asia, insurance giant Prudential continues to roll out its bots with four now operating across Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Vietnam. They help consumers and businesses in the increasingly automated sector where around 60% of new business is submitted electronically and 51% is auto-underwritten.

If QAnon's claims were true, they would shake the very foundations of global government and explain the confusion of politics in recent years. As it is, they are not true – but their importance could nonetheless be hugely significant. It might have been destined to stay as an underground conspiracy theory. But it has quickly taken root both online and off – becoming a feature of Trump rallies and being shared by some of the most important people in the media. It is undeniably dark: it accuses some of the most powerful people in the world of some of the most heinous crimes.

Google has been criticised over reports that it is working on a version of its search engine meant to hide information requested by the Chinese government. The new tool would be a way for Google to get around the vast rules that are placed on what can be shared online in the country. Google withdrew from China in 2010, amid uproar about the fact it was being forced to censor certain information. But the new plan appears to be an attempt to try and get the company back in, by making sure that censoring is happening in an agreeable way. 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.