Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. Burly robots and humanoids are common in sci-fi but it would not be too ambitious to say that the human race may see a cyborg infiltration down the line. With the emergence of AI, various sectors such as defense, medical and aerospace are increasingly making use of the technology to boost productivity and cost-effectiveness. This is why investing in AI-related stocks is a prudent decision at this point. An area which is already experiencing a massive usage of machine learning and robotics is the defense sector. Drew Cukor, chief of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Function Team stated on Mar 6, 2018 that the near future is about to observe humans and computers working "symbiotically" in order to increase the efficacy of a weapon system to be able to detect a target and obliterate it.

Artificial intelligence experts from 30 countries are boycotting a South Korean university over concerns that a new lab in partnership with a leading defence company could lead to autonomous weapons lacking human control. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a public research university in Daejeon, South Korea. It is collaborating with defence manufacturer Hanwha Systems, which makes cluster munitions that are banned in 120 countries. Together, KAIST and Hanwha Systems plan to develop "AI-based command and decision systems, composite navigation algorithms for mega-scale unmanned undersea vehicles, AI-based smart aircraft training systems, and AI-based smart object tracking and recognition technology." As researchers and engineers working on artificial intelligence and robotics, we are greatly concerned by the opening of a "Research Center for the Convergence of National Defense and Artificial Intelligence" at KAIST in collaboration with Hanwha Systems, South Korea's leading arms company.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Over 50 top Artificial Intelligence researchers on Wednesday announced a boycott of KAIST, South Korea's top university, after it opened what they called an AI weapons lab with one of South Korea's largest companies. The researchers, based in 30 countries, said they would refrain from visiting KAIST, hosting visitors from the university, or cooperating with its research programs until it pledged to refrain from developing AI weapons without "meaningful human control". KAIST, which opened the center in February with Hanwha Systems, one of two South Korean makers of cluster munitions, responded within hours, saying it had "no intention to engage in development of lethal autonomous weapons systems and killer robots." University President Sung-Chul Shin said the university was "significantly aware" of ethical concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence, adding, "I reaffirm once again that KAIST will not conduct any research activities counter to human dignity including autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control." The university said the new Research Centre for the Convergence of National Defence and Artificial Intelligence would focus on using AI for command and control systems, navigation for large unmanned undersea vehicles, smart aircraft training and tracking and recognition of objects.

The artificial intelligence boom has expanded into creative fields once deemed uniquely human, like music, poetry, and even narrative podcasts. AI has also started writing rudimentary news articles and assisting reporters, but a new startup launched Wednesday says it will use AI to publish breaking news about a wide variety of topics. The site is called "Knowhere," and its creators say that they believe AI can be used to write unbiased news. The site will publish three versions of every article, aggregated from right-, left-, and center-leaning websites. "Fake news, the Russia misinformation scandal, and all of these issues that are at the top of the Zeitgeist at the moment are all symptoms of a fundamental problem that information moves too fast and at too large a scale for us to be able to reliably parse it and understand the world as human beings," Knowhere editor-in-chief and cofounder Nathaniel Barling and told me on the phone.

Despite its status as the world's most valuable firm, Apple has for some time been thought to lag its biggest rivals in developing one of today's most valued technologies. In the artificial intelligence (AI) battle, it still looks a relative weakling next to the likes of Amazon and Google. No wonder that when Light Reading polled readers in February, asking them what Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) should spend its billions on, the most popular response was artificial intelligence and machine learning. But Apple this week may have found a far less costly way of closing the AI gap. Rather than splurging billions on touted AI startups, it has poached one of the smartest AI experts from one of its main competitors. According to a report from the New York Times (NYT), the executive in question is none other than John Giannandrea, the head of search and artificial intelligence for Google.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. Burly robots and humanoids are common in sci-fi but it would not be too ambitious to say that the human race may see a cyborg infiltration down the line. With the emergence of AI, various sectors such as defense, medical and aerospace are increasingly making use of the technology to boost productivity and cost-effectiveness. This is why investing in AI-related stocks is a prudent decision at this point. An area which is already experiencing a massive usage of machine learning and robotics is the defense sector. Drew Cukor, chief of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Function Team stated on Mar 6, 2018 that the near future is about to observe humans and computers working "symbiotically" in order to increase the efficacy of a weapon system to be able to detect a target and obliterate it.

Porsche has bought a minority stake in Tel Aviv-based startup Anagog to expand its expertise in digital technology. Anagog has developed software that analyses user behavior directly in the mobile phone, using sensors, and then predicts future scenarios on the basis of artificial intelligence. In February, Daimler took part in a round of financing for Anagog. Last year, Anagog and Daimler launched the EQ Ready App, which helps drivers decide whether it makes sense for them to switch to greener car technology by recording real journeys and comparing them with electric and hybrid vehicles. "We are keen to work with new companies to continue developing new digital offerings and launch these solutions in the market quickly so that customers can start benefiting from them," Thilo Koslowski, Managing Director of Porsche Digital, a unit of Volkswagen Group's Porsche sports-car business, said in a statement on Wednesday.

To the point' is a Drishti IAS initiative where we provide exam-oriented material which is brief, succinct and to the point. To the point videos are'short notes' about a topic related to the syllabus. The Drishti Publications books and magazine(s) ('Drishti current affairs today' magazine) have already successfully featured'to the point' section. Here is what you can expect to gain from the'to the point' videos: quick grasp of the subject matter; easy-to-understand format; knowledge of pros and cons of a topic; what, why, how, where dimensions of a topic answered. This should be very helpful for civil services syllabus (General Studies)where you need to study a vast syllabus in a short amount of time and write about 200 words in Mains answers (or do MCQs in Prelims exam).

Microsoft has launched a new policy that means its tech customers will keep hold of any patent rights that come out of its partnerships. In a blog post, Microsoft president Brad Smith explained that the Shared Innovation Initiative is designed to reassure customers that the company won't use the knowledge gleaned from joint ventures to "enter their customer's market and compete against them." Instead, Smith says the company wants to "strike a healthy balance that will both help our customers grow their business through technology and enable Microsoft to continue to improve its platform products." Microsoft cited a hospital in South Korea as an example of the policy in action. The facility co-created a motion-tracking AI application that uses sensors to collect data on a surgeon's movements during operations, in order to identify errors or particularly beneficial techniques.

When China's government said last summer it intends to surpass the US and lead the world in artificial intelligence by 2030, skeptics pointed to a major problem. Despite gobs of data from the world's largest online population, lightweight privacy rules, and 8 million fresh college graduates in 2017, the country doesn't have enough people skilled in AI to overtake America. This week Kai-Fu Lee, onetime head of Google's operations in China, launched a new project to help close the country's AI talent gap. His helpers include the Chinese government and some of North America's leading computer scientists. The project is an example of how US and Chinese efforts to progress in AI are entangled, despite recent rhetoric about superpower technology rivalry.