Computer Vision and machine learning methods were previously used to reveal screen presence of genders in TV and movies [4]. In this work, using head pose, gender detection, and skin color estimation techniques, we demonstrate that the gender disparity in TV in a South Asian country such as Bangladesh exhibits unique characteristics and is sometimes counterintuitive to popular perception. We demonstrate a noticeable discrepancy in female screen presence in Bangladeshi TV advertisements and political talk shows. Further, contrary to popular hypotheses, we demonstrate that lighter-toned skin colors are less prevalent than darker complexions, and additionally, quantifiable body language markers do not provide conclusive insights about gender dynamics. Overall, these gender portrayal parameters reveal the different layers of onscreen gender politics and can help direct incentives to address existing disparities in a nuanced and targeted manner.

Jetstar is looking to artificial intelligence to boost its ability to provide "smart service" to customers and differentiate in Asia's increasingly congested low-cost carrier market. A demonstration at Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco revealed a smart service platform powered by Salesforce and IBM, using both vendors' respective AI technologies Einstein and Watson. There is some ambiguity over how much of what was shown in the presentation is in production use. Salesforce's managing director for global go-to-market strategy and execution in the vendor's travel, transportation and hospitality segments, Farhan Mohammad, called it "a demonstration of how Jetstar is using Salesforce". Jetstar's head of digital Cathryn Arnold indicated to iTnews following the presentation that the IBM Watson tie-ins were "aspirational" and not yet in production.

When it comes to understanding artificial intelligence, is science fiction just a pesky distraction from the real dangers out there? Microsoft's authority on all things AI seems to think so, reports Jihee Junn. "With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon," declared Elon Musk back in 2014. "In all those stories where there's the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it's like – yeah, he's sure he can control the demon. Over the years, the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive has regularly come out to express his concerns over the future of AI. He's even warned of a possible Terminator-style robot uprising, telling a group of US governors earlier this year: "I keep sounding the alarm bell, but until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don't know how to react, because it seems so ethereal." Could the world really be terrorised by artificially sentient beings? Are we on the verge of creating our own existential threat? Does this mean we have to endure another resurrection of Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career? For Eric Horvitz, technical fellow and director of Microsoft Research, the likelihood of such a scenario occurring remains resoundingly low. "I think there's a much higher probability that humanity could wipe out humanity.

Boston Dynamics isn't a part of Google/Alphabet anymore, but that won't stand in the way of new robot videos, like this latest teaser for a revamped version of its dog-like electric SpotMini robot. Described only as the "new SpotMini" it looks sleeker and more production ready than any version we've seen before. There's no creepy manipulator arm mounted on top and it's covered in plastic, revealing only a set of 3D vision cameras on the exterior. SoftBank has started rolling out robots in Japan, and it can't be too long before we see its latest acquisition deliver something for the US. Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert said, "I happen to believe that robotics will be bigger than the Internet" at a conference in October, and this could be the company's first step towards making that happen.

It's one of the most wanted features in the iPhone X, but it seems that Face ID may not be as safe as Apple thinks. Cyber-security researchers claim they have fooled the face recognition technology with a mask that costs just £114 ($150) to make. The findings suggest that face recognition is not yet mature enough to guarantee security for computers and smartphones, according to the researchers. The main frame of the face was created with a 3D printer, and the nose was created by an artist from silicone. The eyes were represented with 2D images, while the'skin was also hand-made to trick Apple's AI', according to the researchers.

Police in the US state of Delaware are poised to deploy'smart' cameras in cruisers to help authorities detect a vehicle carrying a fugitive, missing child or straying senior. The video feeds will be analyzed using artificial intelligence to identify vehicles by license plate or other features and'give an extra set of eyes' to officers on patrol, says David Hinojosa of Coban Technologies, the company providing the equipment. 'We are helping officers keep their focus on their jobs,' said Hinojosa, who touts the new technology as a'dashcam on steroids.' The program is part of a growing trend to use vision-based AI to thwart crime and improve public safety, a trend which has stirred concerns among privacy and civil liberties activists who fear the technology could lead to secret'profiling' and misuse of data. US-based startup Deep Science is using the same technology to help retail stores detect in real time if an armed robbery is in progress, by identifying guns or masked assailants.

Today, a Chinese manufacturer and a venture backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will announce plans to commercialize a microscope that uses deep learning algorithms to automatically identify and count malaria parasites in a blood smear within 20 minutes. AI-powered microscopes could speed up diagnosis and standardize detection of malaria at a time when the mosquito-borne disease kills almost half a million people per year. An experimental version of the AI-powered microscope has already shown that it can detect malaria parasites well enough to meet the highest World Health Organization microscopy standard, known as competence level 1. That rating means that it performs on par with well-trained microscopists, although the researchers note that some expert microscopists can still outperform the automated system. That previous research, presented at the International Conference on Computer Vision [pdf] in October, has inspired the Global Good Fund--a partnership between the company Intellectual Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation--and a Chinese microscope manufacturer called Motic to take the next big commercialization step.

In my last article, I discussed how Artificial Intelligence can either be a boon or a bane. This totally depends on how you use the model, how you train it and what output you wish to generate. The role of AI as a boon or a bane depends much on how you train the model initially before testing the same. Today, I'll be talking about how open data has opened opportunistic doors for businesses and researchers in order to perform data analysis. Data Analysis deals with analyzing and organizing the data in such a manner that will give you some productive results.

It appears Nintendo is preparing a couple of new games from various franchises. It was found out just this weekend that the Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company filed for a series of trademarks for many of its properties. GoNintendo learned just this Sunday that the Kyoto-headquartered company recently filed for several image trademarks. The image trademarks were for various franchises and products including "The Legend of Zelda," "Splatoon," "Animal Crossing" and "Super Smash Bros." There are also two image trademarks for amiibo and three standard character trademarks for "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp," "Marika" and "Pokemori." Japanese Nintendo has obtained copies of the trademarks, which can be viewed here.

Alibaba set a new Singles' Day record this Saturday by selling a staggering $25 billion worth of goods. The company also quietly tested a technology that could help it reinvent retail using artificial intelligence. On the third floor of a shopping mall in the heart of Shanghai last week, Xiaolan He, a woman in her 50s, took an olive green, down jacket to a fitting room. To her surprise, she found a screen about the size of a large poster on the wall. It recognized the item of clothing in her hands through a tiny sensor embedded in the garment, and showed several options for matching items that she could flip through like a photo album.