On this week's episode of my podcast, I Have to Ask, I spoke to Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard and author of the new book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. It follows up on his controversial best-seller The Better Angles of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, which offered a sweeping account of why Pinker believes the present is better than the past. Below is an edited transcript of the show. In it, we discuss why people have so much trouble with the notion of progress, whether global warming and nuclear weapons invalidate his thesis, and just how much of a threat Donald Trump and other demagogues are to our future. You can find links to every episode here; the entire audio interview is below. Please subscribe to I Have to Ask wherever you get your podcasts.

The San Jose-headquartered software giant Adobe Systems has announced it will be setting up an artificial intelligence (AI) centre in Hyderabad. The decision was announced during a meeting between Telengana Information Technology (IT) Minister KT Rama Rao and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum (NILF) that took off in Hyderabad on Monday. This year, the three-day event is also hosting the World Congress on Information Technology- a global event that is making its debut in India. "Adobe is thrilled to announce that we are starting an advanced AI lab in Hyderabad. As a global leader providing content creation and enterprise experience software solutions, driving innovative products is the core essence of our company. The abundance of tech talent in Hyderabad, coupled with the pro-business stance make this an exciting initiative for growth for Adobe," said Narayen.

Software giant Adobe will soon start operations in Hyderabad by setting up an Artificial Intelligence Center in Hyderabad. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen informed Minister KT Rama Rao about the decision on the sidelines of the World Congress on Information Technology, which began on Monday in the city. According to Shantanu, the availability of skilled manpower makes Hyderabad an attractive destination for IT companies. "Adobe is thrilled to announce we are starting an advanced AI lab in Hyderabad. As the global leader providing content creation and enterprise experience software solutions, driving innovative products is the core essence of our company. The abundance of tech talent in Hyderabad, coupled with the pro-business stance of Minister KT Rama Rao, makes this an exciting initiative for the growth for Adobe," he said in a press statement released by the state IT minister's office.

TOKYO: Sony Corp looks set to become the latest blue-chip firm to jockey for position in Japan's taxi and ride-hailing market, with plans for a joint venture to develop an artificial intelligence-based hailing system, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Japan is seen as a potentially lucrative ride-hailing market, with regulators under pressure to ease stringent rules. Currently, non-professional drivers are barred from offering taxi services on safety grounds, and ride-hailing companies are limited to services that "match" users to existing taxi fleets via mobile platforms. Sony plans to build the AI-based hailing platform with Daiwa Motor Transportation and four other domestic taxi firms, the Nikkei said. Sony and Daiwa Motor declined to comment.

Samsung will announce the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 on Feb. 25, Sunday. The South Korean phone maker will also reportedly unveil its new social network "Uhssup" alongside its brand new flagship phones. Late last month, it was discovered that Samsung trademarked a social media service called "Uhssup." Not much is known about it at the time, but its description did say that it will allow users to share their location to friends and other contacts. "Uhssup" will apparently be pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy S9, according to the Korean website HeraldCorp.

SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Artificial intelligence (AI) is growing smarter by the second, and soon it will be able to outsmart us and take our jobs - or at least many fear it will..

NEW DELHI – Tokyo-based drone service and solution provider Terra Drone Corp. will launch operations in India this year to apply unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tech within the industry field of Asia's third-largest economy. Terra Drone India Pvt., a local unit of the firm, was incorporated last month to focus on "data acquisition services," Terra Drone India Managing Director Kota Kandori said in an email interview with NNA. With an initial investment of $1 million (about ¥106 million), Terra Drone India will develop drones, supply materials and create related software, as well as provide survey data analysis with the focus on "industry areas like construction, mining, railway, power lines, etc.," he said. Drones have been used in India for aerial surveys and other purposes over the past few years, citing advantages such as low mobilization costs and efficient use of time, as well as the ability to conduct surveys in urban, forestry, mining and disaster-affected areas, according to a 2017 report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. The Ministry of Mines has separately issued a memo regarding mining sector drones to all state governments and public sector undertakings such as National Aluminum Co. and Hindustan Copper Ltd.

BlackRock is setting up a new centre dedicated to research in artificial intelligence, underscoring the heightened interest among asset managers in how machine learning can revolutionise many facets of the investment industry. The world's biggest investment group, with $6.3tn of assets under management, is establishing a "BlackRock Lab for Artificial Intelligence" in Palo Alto, California, according to an internal memo seen by the Financial Times. The memo, sent by Rob Goldstein -- BlackRock's chief operating officer who is in charge of the company's technology group -- said that the lab will "augment our current teams and accelerate our efforts to bring the benefits of these technologies to the entirety of the firm and to our clients". AI has emerged as a hot topic across the corporate world in recent years as the swelling power of modern computers and expanding reams of digital data have unlocked fields like machine learning and natural language processing. The asset management industry is particularly interested in the area, as they try to improve the performance of their fund managers, automate back-office functions to cut costs and enhance their client outreach by analysing vast amounts of internal and external data. Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's biggest manager of retirement savings, recently said AI could ultimately even replace human fund managers.

Sony Corp. is jumping into the ride-hailing fray. The Tokyo-based electronics giant plans to form a joint venture with six taxi operators in Japan this spring, according to a statement Tuesday. The alliance comes as Uber Technologies Inc., the world's biggest ride-hailing startup, is in talks with another cab company as it tries to build its presence in the country. After years of little action, Japan's lackluster ride-hailing industry is suddenly seeing a lot of activity. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is visiting the country to underscore the importance of its ¥1.7 trillion ($16 billion) taxi market.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the peculiar ability to simultaneously amaze, enthrall, leave us gasping and intimidate. The possibilities of AI are innumerable and they easily surpass our most artistically fecund imaginations. What all we read in science fiction novels or saw in movies like'The Matrix' could someday materialize into reality. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, recently said that'AI can be our friend' and is good for the society. From decision-making to computing to robotics to vehicles and even cosmetics, AI has left its mark everywhere and it will usher in the grandest social engineering experiment in the history of the world.