Police agencies across the US are warning iPhone users of a potentially dangerous viral social media prank. Pranksters are tricking people into saying'Hey Siri, 108', which prompts the digital assistant to contact emergency services – the number is India's equivalent of 911. The prank is said to be spreading through Facebook and Twitter'like wildfire' and although it may seem harmless, it could tie up emergency lines and delay legitimate 911 calls. Police agencies across the US are warning iPhone users of a viral social media prank. Pranksters are urging people to say'Hey Siri, 108', which prompts the digital assistant to contact emergency services – the number is India's equivalent of 911 Pranksters are sharing a trick on Facebook and Twitter, urging people to say'Hey Siri, 108'.

The concept of a robot assistant in the home is moving from sci-fi to reality thanks to a new product that claims to be the first personalised household robot. BIG-i is able to interpret voice commands and perform simple household tasks, such as controlling other smart devices and providing reminders. NXROBO, the company behind the robot, believes that in the future every family will have a robot which will act as the'hub for all smart home appliances.' BIG-i is a natural-interaction robot with mobility, 3D vision, voice programming, and active perception. The robot, which stands 2ft 6ins (80 centimetres) tall, is able to move freely around the home as necessary, avoiding obstacles and can be controlled via a smartphone app as well as voice commands. It also has facial recognition technology that allows it to recognise family and friends in order to carry out specific tasks, such as reminding the children to remember their school lunchbox before they leave the house.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week made a dangerously ignorant prediction. When asked about the future of artificial intelligence, automation and the workforce, this was his reply: "It's not even on our radar screen," he said at a media event, adding that significant workforce disruption due to AI is "50 to 100" years away. "I'm not worried at all" about robots displacing humans in the near future, Mnuchin said. The Trump administration has repeatedly rejected evidence-based research and objective analysis on issues that include climate and human biology. When confronted with a complicated technology, like machine learning, administration officials now appear to be rejecting curiosity, too.

Aiming to give users a simplified and an enhanced user experience, Panasonic India on Monday launched two new smartphones that are equipped with "Arbo" -- the company's in-house developed artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual assistant. The smartphones are exclusively available on Flipkart. While Eluga Ray Max is priced at Rs 11,499 for 32GB variant and Rs 12,499 for 64GB variant, Eluga Ray X is available for Rs 8,999. "With the launch of our first AI-enabled smartphones, we are now expanding our product offerings which will help empower our consumer base and assist them in performing tasks in a smarter way," Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation, told reporters here. The virtual assistant is a self-learning technology that understands the user behaviour and then maps their daily activities for them accordingly.

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is launching a new company called Neuralink with the intention of connecting computers directly to human brains, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal reported that the billionaire entrepreneur, whose other interests include sending humans to Mars, is exploring "neural lace" technology – the implanting of tiny electrodes into the brain that could be used to give direct computing capabilities. Musk has not officially announced the new company but after the Journal's report he tweeted confirming more news of Neuralink would come out next week. He has previously talked about neural laces as something that "somebody's got to do", adding: "If somebody doesn't do it, then I think I should do it." Neuralink was registered in California as a "medical research" company last July, and the Journal reported Musk plans on funding the company mostly by himself.

Facebook is ending support for Messenger on a number of smartphones before the start of April. The social network has announced that handsets running Windows Phone 8.1 or earlier will no longer have access to its messaging app from this Saturday. Microsoft's mobile platform is nowhere near as popular as Android or iOS, and Facebook's decision comes as little surprise. 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.

UberEats, the food delivery service introduced by ride sharing giant Uber, will expand across more than 40 towns and cities in the UK before the end of the year as it continues to compete with rivals Deliveroo and JustEat. Uber, whose car-hailing app has caused upheaval in the taxi industry, disrupted the takeaway market in London when it launched UberEats in June last year. The app is now also available in Manchester and Birmingham and more than 1 million customers have downloaded it since its launch, according to the company. "It's clear from the response we've seen in London, Manchester and Birmingham that there's huge appetite from people to order food at the touch of a button from their favourite local restaurants," Jambu Palaniappan, regional manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at UberEats, said. "We're really excited about the future of the business which is why we're investing heavily in an ambitious plan to launch the app in at least 40 towns and cities in the UK by the end of the year," he added.

Hedge funds have been trying to teach computers to think like traders for years. Now, after many false dawns, an artificial intelligence technology called deep learning that loosely mimics the neurons in our brains is holding out promise for firms. WorldQuant is using it for small-scale trading, said a person with knowledge of the firm. Man AHL may soon begin betting with it too. Winton and Two Sigma are also getting into the brain game.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the verge of becoming a'bubble' in China as a large influx of money and talent heat the market, analysts and experts warn. "For the job market in China's AI sector, I see a bubble already exists now. Some practitioners in the AI industry and are paid salaries that are unfairly high," said Wang Xiaochuan, chief executive officer of Chinese internet company Sogou. "Investors expect too high a return on their investments, and the valuations of China's AI enterprises are much more expensive than those in the US." In terms of investment in AI enterprises, China was in second place in 2016 on US$2.6 billion, followed by the UK on US$800 million, according to data from Chinese think tank WuZhen Institute.

The Smart Dubai Office and Smart Dubai Government Establishment launched an artificial intelligence (AI) smart laboratory to begin training of 200 people in April and later it will be open for visits to the general public too, the Khaleej Times newspaper reported. "To move towards the future, we have to redefine government and embed AI in our services. We have no choice but to embrace technology … We want to replace call centers and help parents choose schools for their children using cognitive computing," Aisha bint Butti bin Bishr, the director-general of Smart Dubai Office, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. According to the city officials, the artificial intelligence will not replace regular jobs and will not be responsible for the human interactions, but instead will be focused on helping people to fulfill their duties better by performing quick search through the archives and other operations, where the influence of human factor is likely to cause mistakes. Earlier in January, the Japanese Mitsubishi Research Institute said that the introduction of artificial intelligence machines in Japan is expected to create 5 million workplaces by 2030.