The Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are two of the most significant trends in technology. And understanding their direction, and how to embrace them, is something that companies of all sizes want to understand. As a technology leader for over two decades, Microsoft has been at the forefront of IoT and Advanced Analytics (AA) since their inception, and our IoT & AI Insider Labs are the focal point for our customers to embrace these trends, and work hand-in-hand with experts to take their products from proof-of-concept to commercial deployment. Today on the Microsoft News Center, you can read about what it's like to come to work with Microsoft engineers in solving the challenges of melding machines and data at the labs, which currently operate in Redmond, Washington, and Shenzhen, China, with another facility opening soon in Munich, Germany. The Microsoft IoT & AI Insider Labs bring together developers with Microsoft and industry experts to tap into the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence and fuel the digital transformation taking place across industries -- from energy to retail to robotics.

Investing in technology-oriented insurance ventures (insurtech) is clearly a global trend and almost half of all the money being poured into them globally is going into artificial intelligence and internet of things startups, new research finds. The research from Accenture, which includes an analysis of CB Insights data on 450 insurtech deals over the last three years, appears in a new Accenture report titled The Rise of InsurTech. The CB Insights data reveals that global insurtech investment totaled $1.7 billion in 2016 and both the volume and value of deals have almost doubled since 2014. While more than half of all deals still take place in the U.S., insurtech has gone global with the United Kingdom, Germany, China and India now being significant markets and other countries coming on. Only about 14 percent of the insurtech deals in 2016 had an insurance industry investor or partner, although the industry's participation has been rising every year.

Facebook has added a new icon to some people's home screen – and not explained why it is there. Selected users are now seeing a small rocket at the bottom of their screen, without any clue about what to do with it or what it means. Clicking on the rocket appears to lead to an altered version of the news feed, but the traditional one still exists alongside it. The button is appearing for selected users on iOS and Android at the bottom of the app's view. It sits between the normal news feed and the friends option.

In the next stage of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, banks will use AI to help understand the intentions and emotions of customers for better interaction, a new report from Global professional services company Accenture said on Wednesday. According to the "Accenture Banking Technology Vision 2017" report, more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of bankers globally and 87 per cent in India believe that AI would enable simpler user interfaces eventually helping them create a more human-like customer experience. In addition, four out of five global respondents (79 per cent) and nearly nine out of ten (87 per cent) bankers in India believe that AI would revolutionise the way banks gather information and interact with customers. "Indian banks are embracing digital solutions for interacting with customers; the next step is implementing the enabling power of AI," Piyush Singh, Managing Director and Head of Accenture Financial Services group in India, said in a statement. According to the report, three-quarters (76 per cent globally) and 83 per cent in India believed that within three years banks would deploy AI as their primary method for interacting with customers.

Artificial intelligence will have a hand in how people meet in the future, according to Tinder's chairman and co-founder. Sean Rad discussed the progression of dating, the future of the matchmaking app and how AI might influence that during the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday. "AI is going to empower new user experiences. I think in the future, you're going to be working less for the answer that you're looking for. As devices get smarter, you're just going to get the results," said Rad. "It's not hard to imagine a world where you're talking to your device…there's an enmeshment between what your tech can do and what you're experiencing in real time."

If you're betting on Silicon Valley stars like Google, Tesla, and Uber to free you from your horrorshow commute with autonomous driving technology, don't. That's the key takeaway from a new report that finds Ford--yes, the Detroit-based, 113-year-old giant--is winning the race to build the self-driving car, with General Motors running a close second. Meanwhile, Waymo--aka Google's driverless car effort--sits in sixth place, with Tesla in twelfth. Uber languishes in sixteenth, behind Honda and barely ahead of startup Nutonomy and China's Baidu. That may sound all kinds of wrong to anyone who has seen Uber, Waymo, and Tesla flaunt their tech, and regards Detroit's old guard as ill-prepared for the robotic future.

A quick, hassle-free way to stay on top of robotics news, our robotics digest is released on the first Monday of every month. Sign up to get it in your inbox. March is a month for change and new beginnings. The new UK Budget promised hundreds of millions of pounds to scientists and researchers to develop solutions to hi-tech challenges, including artificial intelligence and robotics, next generation batteries and new techniques for manufacturing medicines. The government is expected to allocate more than £500 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund so that UK companies might lead the way in the new technologies set to transform the world.

The new single by the superstar Compton rapper arrived suddenly last week, and on it he sounds like he's been storing this venom since birth. Lamar lunges at anyone in his way on the fourth installment of a song series he started in 2010. In one set of couplets, he slams the president with rhymes about complicity and truth: "Donald Trump is a chump/ Know how we feel, punk/ Tell'em that God comin'/ And Russia need a replay button/ Y'all up to somethin'." Big Sean?) and derides disgraced former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca -- "tables turned, lesson learned" -- who was recently convicted of obstructing a federal investigation and then lying about his actions. Musically, "The Heart, Part 4" features contributions from producers the Alchemist, Axl Folie, Syk Sense and DJ Dahi, who collaborate on a track that rolls through a few different movements and tempos.

To help merchants on its marketplaces efficiently handle growing volumes of consumer enquiries, Alibaba has launched a smart customer service chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that retailers can customize to suit their individual virtual-storefront operations. Named Dian Xiaomi (store assistant), the text-only chatbot was inspired by Ali Xiaomi, an AI-powered chatbot rolled out by Alibaba in 2015 to handle customer enquiries and complaints coming into the e-commerce company. Encouraged by the success of Ali Xiaomi in understanding and answering questions from human users, Alibaba said it wanted to make the technology available to merchants who sell through its online marketplaces so they can upgrade their customer service. "We noticed the pain points suffered by merchants on our platform," said Liu Jianrong, Dian Xiaomi product manager. "For instance, merchants don't have enough staff to handle enquiries during rush hours in the daytime nor do they have any staff on duty in the evening. When it comes to big promotions like 11.11, they need to hire a large temporary customer-service crew, yet they are still swamped by the overwhelming volume," Liu said.

Netflix is finally bringing downloads to the desktop. The company added the much-requested feature, which allows users to save TV shows and films for offline viewing, to the Android and iOS versions of its app last November. Netflix has now added the same functionality to the Windows 10 version of the its app, under the label'Download & Go'. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.