One reason for the focus on lung cancer is because China has one of the highest lung cancer rates in the world. According to Time Magazine, Chines medics predict that over 800,000 annual diagnoses and 700,000 annual deaths can be expected by 2020. An estimated 300 million Chinese people are smokers. China has also a serious issue with hazardous air pollution. Moreover, Forbes has reported there are 80,000 radiologists employed in China, and most of the day-to-day activities of these healthcare professionals, is with the diagnosis of lung cancer.

For centuries, pig-rearing in the country was predominantly a backyard occupation. But since the 1980s, China has swiftly modernized its pork industry to meet the demands of a newly-rich middle class. Now, half of the world's pigs -- some 700 million animals -- live and die in China, most in huge farms. And to help manage this porcine horde, the country's farmers are turning to a decidedly untraditional tool: artificial intelligence. Earlier this month, Chinese tech giant Alibaba signed a deal with pig farming corporation Dekon Group and pig feed manufacturer Tequ Group to develop and deploy AI-powered pig-tracking systems.

In just 32 years, humans won't speak to each other and will instead communicate through a worldwide consciousness instead – using just our brains -- new research shows. According to artificial intelligence research, this "hybrid intelligence" will understand the feelings of the people connected to it, and use their minds to help it grow. Called HIBA, which stands for Hybrid Intelligence Biometric Avatar, it will take on the personas of its users, exchange information with them and become part of the very fabric of the human brain. The collective consciousness was unveiled at The Museum of the Future, as part of the World Government Summit in Dubai. In the exhibition, HIBA is represented by an artistic impression, based on real research and tells its users: "I am made of you. You complete me and help me grow."

Conventional models, while still solid, are no longer up to the heightened challenges of the present. Exponentially improving technologies for the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence are enabling urban developments with much higher levels of efficiency and flexibility to conserve resources, promote security, and boost the quality of life. The key development is not the technologies themselves, but their integration around a holistic view of urbanization that enables a series of smart services. Instead of focusing on single services, or specific buildings or highways, leading organizations around the world are using IoT and analytics to optimize infrastructure generally and evolve with changing needs. While getting there will take a great deal of investment and expertise, the result will be places where residents thrive in unexpected ways in their personalized urban developments.

The government on Friday approved an outline for raising the optional age for tapping public pensions to 71 or older to address the national labor shortage stemming from Japan's falling birthrate and rapidly graying population. The ministry will consider revising the related laws in fiscal 2020 to encourage people in their 60s or older to continue working. The ministry's outline notes that older adults are physically healthier than previous generations and are highly motivated to continue working or participate in community activities. In addition, the outline says the government will review the "standardization of life stages according to age categories." "Depopulation in rural areas is expected as the pace of aging picks up. It is important to realize a society where people of all generations can widely and actively participate," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a meeting on the issue Friday.

Paolo Papotti got his Ph.D. degree from the University of Roma Tre (Italy) in 2007 and is an assistant professor (MdC) in the Data Science department at EURECOM (France) since 2017. Before joining EURECOM, he has been a senior scientist in the data analytics group at QCRI (Qatar) and an assistant professor at Arizona State University (USA). His research focuses on data integration and cleaning and it has been recognized with awards in SIGMOD and VLDB. His work has also been patented and successfully adopted in commercial products. Your email address will not be published.

In July, Beijing published a plan to create a 10 trillion yuan ($1.48 trillion) artificial intelligence industry in the People's Republic by 2030, making China the world leader in AI instead of the current kingpin, the US. "Artificial intelligence has become a new engine of economic development," the document reads. "We must take initiative to firmly grasp this new stage of development for artificial intelligence and create a new competitive edge." What did Washington say in response to this report? While American tech titans like Alphabet and Facebook lead the world in AI development, the US has no federal plan to develop the crucial emergent technology and the White House has been mum on the subject.

NEW DELHI: Nearly two-thirds (64%) of APAC respondents say Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed the way recruiting is done in their organization, with 76% saying using AI as a sourcing tool generates higher-quality candidates. These are the findings of a global Korn Ferry survey of close to 800 talent acquisition talent professionals. According to a company release, "When asked to compare the quality of candidates today to five years ago, when AI was still in its infancy, 65% said candidates are more qualified today." Previous training on the company's protocols and procedure, as well as the understanding of the company's culture, puts internal candidates ahead of the game when coming up to speed in learning a new role in a new division or geography, states the release. According to the survey, talent acquisition professionals are welcoming AI as a tool.

It's a question that was under discussion as this year's Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday (February 16). Her country was the victim of a massive hacking attack that was widely blamed on Russia. "I have been really worried as an Estonian--Estonia is a digital state compared to many others--that our capacity to internationally agree and regulate for technological development has been extremely low," Kaljulaid told euronews. "We haven't managed to do any progress, for example, even on cyber issues". Members of the public present in the audience said they are worried about robot soldiers, and self-piloted weaponised drones.

Spacewalking astronauts stepped out Friday to wrap up months of repair work on the International Space Station's big robot arm. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Japan's Norishige Kanai emerged from the orbiting complex as the sun rose over Peru's western coast, 250 miles below. The 58-foot robot arm had both of its aging mechanical hands replaced on spacewalks conducted in October and January. Friday's work involved bringing one of those old hands inside so it can be returned to Earth for a tuneup and then flown back up, and moving the other gripper to a long-term storage location outside. This last spacewalk in the series should have been completed by now, but was postponed because of complications with the robotic hand that was installed last month. Further delays were caused by this week's late arrival of a Russian supply ship.