Canada-based crypto exchange Coinsquare announced on Monday the launch of a new branch called Coin Capital Investment Management Inc (Coincapital). The subsidiary has been registered with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) as an exempt market dealer, portfolio manager, and investment fund manager. The new branch will provide users with a variety of investment services revolving around blockchain, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence (AI), and other innovative technologies. "There is a strong appetite for investors to access growth in the technology sector, but not enough specialized or niche offerings available to them." "We are at a critical inflection point in the technology sector and Coincapital is perfectly positioned, given its relationship to Coinsquare and deep sector expertise, to take advantage of the next phase of industry growth," he added.

Singapore's Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) recently announced the creation of an Advisory Council on Ethical Use of AI and Data as part of an effort to bring together a range of key stakeholders to inform the government on possible approaches to ensure consumer trust in AI-powered products and services. ITU News recently caught up with IMDA's Assistant Chief Executive of Data Innovation and Protection, Yeong Zee Kin, to learn more about Singapore's approach to this important and timely issue. With the recent launch of the Digital Economy Framework for Action, Singapore has entered a new phase of its digitalisation journey. The ability to use and share data innovatively and responsibly can become a competitive advantage for businesses. Infusing AI into business operations can accelerate digital transformation through new features and functionalities.

With cyber threats rising rapidly, security service providers see an increase in demand for their products, prompting them to invest in latest technologies such as machine learning to predict and prevent attacks. Paladion Networks, a B2B cyber security service provider for the banking sector, saw a 30 per cent increase in business in the last two years. Shree Parthasarathy, Partner, Deloitte, said large enterprises are now investing almost 10-15 per cent of their IT spend in cyber security. The user base of Chennai-based K7 Computing Pvt Ltd, anti-virus software and internet security solution, increased rapidly over years. For instance, the company had 800 active users in 2010, but it now has 5,000 daily users.

China Internet Nationwide Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFS) provides financial advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses in China. In this interview with SmallCapPower at the 2018 Sprott Natural Resource Symposium in Vancouver, the Company's Investor Relations Director Kevin Shum talks about CIFS' efforts to market its services in North America, the decision-making process of China-based investors, and how the Company is using Artificial Intelligence to augment its business lines.

The deal is with Paltac Corporation, the biggest supplier to drugstore-style shops in Japan. It begins modestly, with a single pilot store in the city of Sendai, about four hours north of Tokyo, set to open in early 2019. Then it ramps up fast: The plan is to outfit over 3,000 stores in time for the Tokyo Olympics in July 2020. "The government is pushing its stores and its companies to put their best digital foot forward for the Olympics," says Michael Suswal, Standard Cognition's COO and one of the Bay Area startup's seven cofounders. Partnering with Paltac, which supplies most of Japan's small retail industry, allows Standard Cognition to reach a diverse market.

Airborne data collecting platforms like the RQ-4 Global Hawk have a problem: the usefulness of the data they collect is limited by how fast and how well it can be analyzed. US military intelligence gathers a lot of data, but in order to make the data useful for a decision making process, the Air Force needs a "sensing grid that fuses together data," C4ISRNET reported Wednesday. AI will help the force interpret that fused data. The AI will harvest information from airborne systems in development such as Gremlin drones, which the US military portrays as a swarm of small drones that take off from an aircraft mid-flight and are recovered by the same aircraft. "How do I get the data so I can fuse it, look at it and then ask the right questions from the data to reveal what trends are out there?" Lt. Gen. VeraLinn Jamieson said in a July 31 interview with the news outlet.

The Beijing-based company blew past analysts' estimates Tuesday, reporting a record $3.93 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 30, up 32% over the year-earlier period. Net income soared 45% to 6.4 billion yuan ($967 million). Baidu, which sells advertising linked to web searches, news feeds and other content, credited the robust quarter to improvements in its mobile app, which uses AI to tailor its offerings to users based on their viewing habits and search history. The app notched 148 million daily active users in June, up 17% from a year ago. That helped boost online ad sales, its biggest source of revenue, by 25% to 21.1 billion yuan in the second quarter from a year earlier.

'The U.S. Department of Defense will for the first time be using large-scale artificial intelligence systems that could automate mundane tasks and augment the work of military members as a result of an $885 million five-year contract, said Josh Sullivan, senior vice president at government consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. The technology will allow the Defense Department to better compete with nations including China and Russia, said Mr. Sullivan, who leads the analytics business for Booz Allen. "Part of this is (about) making sure our government has the access to the best technology and using it responsibly in service of our citizens and warfighters," he said. The use of AI systems such as neural networks that mimic the human brain could help the Defense Department sift through the "overwhelming" amount of data related to such areas as national security and health care. In turn, soldiers and military members can be freed up to identify threats on the battlefield sooner, spend more time with military patients and work on problems that require higher-level contextual reasoning, Mr. Sullivan said.

Norm Judah is chief technology officer, Microsoft Services. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already having a transformative impact across every industry. From helping employees at transportation companies predict arrival times or issues that may arise, to predicting toxins in grains of food. It's helping scientists learn how to treat cancer more effectively and farmers are figuring out how to grow more food using fewer natural resources. A 2017 study by PWC calculated global GDP will be 14 percent higher by 2030 as a result of AI adoption, contributing an additional $15.7 trillion to the global economy.

A poll of British consumers conducted by software firm OpenText found that one in four Brits think robots would do a better job than humans as politicians. Years ago, The Muppet Show ran a segment mocking politicians for their stereotypical robotic behaviour. Last April a robot was nominated to run to be Tokyo's mayor, promising fair and balanced representation. In a world where reality is sometimes more bizarre than an episode of Black Mirror, what if we replaced our current politicians with algorithms? In a period where trust in politicians is low and government efficiency is questionable, might we be better off? Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks.