The democratization of advanced technologies holds a promise of unimaginable value for businesses. But some companies are much more aggressive in the race for dominance over the sphere than others. And the dominance in cloud technologies will feed into the race for a leading place in the AI development space. Cloud computing companies are all racing to deploy increasingly sophisticated services featuring machine learning and AI. What's at stake is the opportunity to become the dominant player in what promises to be the next big computing paradigm.

Incidents of cryptojacking - the process of hacking bitcoins and other digital currencies - have surged in the UK in recent months by as much as 1,200 per cent, according to one cybersecurity giant. Symantec Threat Intelligence observed a dramatic up-tick in attacks on lucrative cryptocurrency holdings between October and January. The findings coincide with a spike in interest in bitcoin, which was valued at an all-time high of $19,850 (£14,214) in mid-December. Cryptojacking sees hackers commandeering other people's personal computers for use in bitcoin mining, sometimes loading victims' devices with unwanted software but often preferring to go undetected. The practice was once dependant on installing malware on the target's computer but can now be carried out in-browser by hacking a web page's JavaScript.

Vero, the controversial app that hopes to take down Instagram, now has more than a million users. The app has shot up the charts in recent days, amid excitement about its promise to avoid the problems of other apps like Facebook and Instagram. But it has run into problems, spending much of the time offline and attracting criticism over its terms and conditions. Vero had initially said that all users after the first million would have to pay a subscription fee to use the app. But it said that restriction is no longer in place "until further notice".

Russia claims it has developed powerful lasers to fire at enemy satellites in orbit. The plane-mounted lasers form part of an anti-satellite system that also involves both radar and ground-based components, reports claim. The news comes after a US Air Force chief warned yesterday that space warfare could break out between superpower nations'within years'. The system includes a laser mounted onto an aircraft as well as relevant ground control gear and radar that will help the device to find targets. The US Navy is also developing laser weapons, including this anti-drone'active laser' that will be mounted onto warships According to an anonymous source quoted by Russian news agency Interfax, weapons maker Almaz-Antey has'completed work on an anti-satellite complex'.

It's the question on the lips of just about everybody involved in the transportation business--and a few who aren't. The ranks of those offering ride-sharing services have swelled far beyond the likes of Uber and Lyft, past the self-driving gurus like Google sister company Waymo, past even the established automakers. Now they include companies like Bosch, the German company best known as an automotive parts supplier, which last week acquired American ride-sharing startup SPLT. And Sony, which just announced it will partner with Tokyo taxi companies, lending its artificial intelligence tech to the tricky business of dispatch. And even rental company Avis, which purchased car-sharing company ZipCar and is working with Waymo to support a self-driving taxi rollout in Arizona.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who was in India for The Economic Times Global Business Summit, told reporters that he doesn't believe artificial intelligence (AI) will end up taking away people's jobs. Speaking to The Economic Times, the 67-year-old Wozniak said that over a period of time, people end up losing jobs because of phenomena like stock market crashes and market bubbles. "These things come and go. But it's not like the world is ruined," he said. Woz, the nickname by which he is widely known, pointed out that no machine ever sits down and says "Humm, what should I work on?"

Over 60 years ago, in what is today southern Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite into Earth's orbit. The launch of Sputnik 1 provoked a panic in the United States that catalyzed a flurry of investment and research, which ultimately put man on the moon. China's Sputnik moment came in March 2016, when AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence program developed by Google's DeepMind, defeated South Korean Go master Lee Sedol. As The New York Times reported, AlphaGo's victory had a profound impact on politicians in China, one that spurred increased commitment to Beijing's effort to rule AI. In July 2017, China's State Council published an ambitious policy blueprint calling for the country to become "the world's primary AI innovation center" by 2030.

As was also clearly stated by Vladimir Putin on September 4, 2017: "whichever country leads the way in Artificial Intelligence research will be the ruler of the world". According to Thomas Kuhn's old, but still useful, epistemological model, every change of the scientific paradigm – rather than the emergence of new material discoveries – radically changes the visions of the world and hence strategic equilibria. Hence, first of all, what is Artificial Intelligence? It consists of a series of mathematical tools, but also of psychology, electronic technology, information technology and computer science tools, through which a machine is taught to think as if it were a human being, but with the speed and security of a computer. The automatic machine must representman's knowledge, namely show it, thus enabling an external operator to change the process and understand its results within the natural language.

The renewed search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 entered its next phase as the initial search of 3,160 sq. Texas-based Ocean Infinity -- which has signed a "no cure, no fee" deal with the Malaysian government to find the jetliner -- is scouring a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean, where the ill-fated plane is believed to have gone down. The second leg of the search includes scouring through an area of the 9,652 sq. According to a report, citing an update posted Tuesday by Malaysia's MH370 Response Team, Ocean Infinity's search ship, the Seabed Constructor, was able to launch all eight of its autonomous underwater vehicles following favorable weather conditions. Earlier, the search operation was hampered due to bad weather.

The government plans to build a system using artificial intelligence to ease spectator congestion at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, sources said Tuesday. The system will help guide spectators to less crowded exit routes at competition venues. Some 10 million spectators are expected to attend the Summer Olympics and Paralympics from July to September 2020. Fans will receive congestion forecasts at various points every 30 minutes after an event ends through their smartphones and electronic boards set up around the venue, and will be guided toward less congested routes to train stations. To make such forecasts, the AI-based system will obtain information on the flow of pedestrians through roadside cameras and by measuring smartphone activity. Measures to protect individuals' privacy are being considered.