What does the youngest chief executive in Big Pharma want? When Vas Narasimhan, 41, took the helm of drug giant Novartis in February, he'd already put the project in motion. Novartis scouts were dispatched to visit air traffic control towers and the Swiss electrical grid to see how other industries dealt with torrents of data. Working with McKinsey's QuantumBlack unit, they built a software system called Nerve that not only keeps track of every data point on all 550 clinical trials testing Novartis drugs, but also uses analytic software to predict potential hiccups in the execution of those studies. Soon Narasimhan will be able to walk into mission control at the company's Basel, Switzerland, headquarters and call up whatever information he needs in an instant. "When you look at history, it takes the medical establishment 50 to 75 years to actually change how we do clinical studies," Narasimhan says.

Two legal challenges have been launched against police forces in south Wales and London over their use of automated facial recognition (AFR) technology on the grounds the surveillance is unregulated and violates privacy. The claims are backed by the human rights organisations Liberty and Big Brother Watch following complaints about biometric checks at the Notting Hill carnival, on Remembrance Sunday, at demonstrations and in high streets. Liberty is supporting Ed Bridges, a Cardiff resident, who has written to the chief constable of South Wales police alleging he was tracked at a peaceful anti-arms protest and while out shopping. Big Brother Watch is working with the Green party peer Jenny Jones who has written to the home secretary, Sajid Javid, and the Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, urging them to halt deployment of the "dangerously authoritarian" technology. If the forces do not stop using AFR systems then legal action will follow in the high court, the letters said.

The Oversight and Government Reform IT Subcommittee has been on a mission to increase the presence of artificial intelligence in government. After a series of congressional hearings on the matter Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, is realizing how far behind we are from robots taking over the world or replacing our colleagues. In these hearings, the committee heard from members of government, industry, academia and nonprofits about the challenges and opportunities AI brings -- including ethics, funding, capabilities, security, consumer expectations and more. In a recent piece written by Hurd in Fortune, he emphasizes that government adopting AI doesn't mean it'll be run by AI; but rather, it'll be "run by people with help from algorithms dramatically improving government services for all Americans," he writes. Hurd also believes AI can make it easier and faster for citizens to interact with government, while increasing government response time and speed.

Tech giant IBM has unveiled a new line of power system servers that can handle intensive computing workloads at organisations using new-age technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). "The next-generation power systems servers incorporate a newly designed POWER9 processor. This has been built specifically for compute-intensive AI workloads... Using this, enterprises can over a period of time build more accurate AI applications, faster," Satya Sharma, IBM Fellow and Cognitive Systems CTO (IBM Systems), said. He added that data scientists can build applications faster, ranging from deep learning insights in scientific research, real-time fraud detection and credit risk analysis. IBM Director (Systems) India/South Asia Viswanath Ramaswamy said over the next 2-5 years, AI will become embedded in enterprises across sectors retail and financial services.

Drones armed with computer vision software could enable new forms of automated skyborne surveillance to watch for violence below. One glimpse of that future comes from UK and Indian researchers who demonstrated a drone surveillance system that can automatically detect small groups of people fighting each other. The seed idea for researchers to develop such a drone surveillance system was first planted in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and injured hundreds in 2013. It was not until the Manchester Arena bombing that killed 23 and wounded 139--including many children leaving an Ariana Grande concert--when the researchers made some progress. This time, they harnessed a form of the popular artificial intelligence technique known as deep learning.

The Greater Paris Region and Beijing Municipality signed on Tuesday a five-year deal to focus on smart cities and sustainable development, Greater Paris Region President Valérie Pécresse told a press conference held in Beijing. Cooperation between the two cities, which began in 1988, will extend beyond fighting air pollution to domains such as artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities and autonomous driving, Pécresse said, noting that the two sides will fund a joint lab named City of the Future. "270 Chinese companies have invested in the greater Paris region, creating 3,700 jobs," Pécresse said, noting that there is room for further growth. Paris has become a more attractive destination than London for the first time when it comes to luring investment, Reuters reported, citing a report from consultancy firm EY. The result was partially thanks to French President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms, the report said.

Bestselling author Shep Hypken--the "Chief Amazement Officer" at Shephard Presentations--makes a rock-solid case for why customer experience has advanced to the level of 21st-century table stakes: "New research proves that consumers are expecting, if not demanding, highly personalized experiences," Hypken writes in Forbes. "And the good news for those businesses that can deliver is that customers are typically willing to spend more when they receive such custom-tailored service." Computer vision also comes into play where smart retail stores are concerned. Enter the Internet of Things (IoT), which through interconnected devices and strong data analytics makes an entirely new level of customer surprise, delight and convenience possible. What's more, the IoT brings relevant experiences and information to consumers, whether to facilitate the operation of smart homes or to provide relevant health and wellness data that can be shared with medical professionals.

Humans could one day become enslaved by the intelligent machines they create, a renowned MIT professor has warned. A number of prominent researchers expect AI to be able to outsmart humans at every conceivable task and job within decades. One expert believes people may not be able to keep up with these super intelligent robots, who could'break out and takeover' before destroying humanity. Shockingly, he also claims that some of his colleagues may welcome the extinction of the species by AI, viewing them as our natural descendants. Mankind could become enslaved by the intelligent machines they may soon create, a renowned MIT professor Max Tegmark (pictured) has warned.

Parents in China are handing over babysitting duties to robots. The £1,050 ($1,400) 'iPal' speaks two languages, gives maths lessons, tells jokes and interacts with children through a tablet screen in its chest. Engineers designed the device to act like a four to eight-year-old, becoming an extra child in the family that also helps'relieve the burden' felt by China's busy parents. The android offers education and company for lonely children and peace of mind for adults, who can remotely talk to and monitor their child through iPal's screen. A smartphone app directly links parents to the humanoid machine, allowing them to see and hear everything in iPal's vicinity.

Apps created for the iPhone and other Apple products have helped created hundreds of thousands of jobs, the company says. Across Europe, more than 1.7 million jobs have been created and supported by Apple products. That's according to a new section on Apple's website which claims that it expects all of those numbers to keep growing. Many of those jobs are spread across the continent. That includes 22,000 Apple employees and 170,000 jobs created through suppliers – but also takes in the 1.57 million jobs that a study has shown have been created by the app economy. 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.