Whether an A.I. ought to be granted patent rights is a timely question given the increasing proliferation of A.I. in the workplace. One might argue that Intellectual Property (IP) laws and IP Rights were designed to exclusively benefit human creators and inventors[7] and thus would exclude non-humans from holding IP rights. However, many IP laws were drafted well before the emergence of A.I. and in any case, do not explicitly require that a creator or inventor be'human.' The World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPOs) definition of Intellectual Property talks about creations of the mind[9] but does not specify whether it must be a human mind. Similarly, provisions in laws promoting innovation and IP rights, such as the so-called Intellectual Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution[10], also do not explicitly mention a'human' requirement.

Exploration work inside the nuclear plant's failed reactors has barely begun, with the scale of the task described as'almost beyond comprehension'.

The stocks of robot makers will likely enjoy sharp gains in the coming years as the United States--along with other major industrial nations--use robots to replace expensive human labor, according to Barron's. Shares of Japan-based Fanuc Corp., Rockwell Automation (ROK), German manufacturer KUKA AG and Japan-based Yaskawa Electric Corp could all encounter notable tailwinds.

Just days after China announced plans to grow its defense budget, the country's largest missile maker has started developing military drones with stealth abilities that can evade anti-aircraft weapons, local media reported Thursday. The move comes as China continues to advance in its military modernization program amid growing threats from its neighbors and the West. "Drones have become an indispensable weapon in modern warfare because they can play an important role in high-resolution reconnaissance, long-distance precision strikes, anti-submarine operations and aerial combat," Wei Yiyin, deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, told the China Daily. China has been working to develop new weapons, including stealth fighters and aircraft carriers but has clarified that its investment to upgrade its military prowess has no hostile intent. Amid tensions with U.S. over the South China Sea, and the recent threats from North Korea after its missile launches, China, which is ranked third in the list of biggest military in the world has stepped up research into military drones.

Over the past seven days, Nissan has welcomed media from all over Europe to sit inside its prototype Leaf and see for themselves how it fares on a pre-set route around east London. I was there to ride shotgun with Tetsuya Iijima, General Manager of Autonomous Drive Development at Nissan, through the streets of Beckton, onto the A13 dual carriageway and back to the ExCel, a short distance from London City Airport and across the river from The O2. It's not the first time the company has conducted a trial with the car -- they've tested it in Japan and Silicon Valley before -- but European roads pose a unique challenge thanks to an abundance of pedestrian (zebra) crossings, roundabouts and the unpredictable nature of London's drivers. Before fully autonomous Leafs can be sold in glitzy showrooms, Nissan needs to prove it can master each of these obstacles without error. From a distance, the autonomous Leaf looks like any other Leaf you'd see on London's roads. Dotted around the car are four lasers, five radars and 12 cameras, most of which have been seamlessly integrated into the bodywork, that provide the car with 20 centimetre accuracy.

WhatsApp is working on a new feature that businesses can use to contact customers directly, according to a new report. The feature, which is being tested by a number of Y Combinator startups, is designed as a way for the the messaging app to make money. Businesses could end up paying WhatsApp for the ability to get in touch with potential customers, according to Reuters, which adds that the Facebook-owned firm is wary of spam potentially becoming an issue. 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, ...

Six years after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, recent investigations underneath the damaged reactor 2 using cameras and robots came close to identifying melted fuel rods for the first time. Experts say getting a peek inside the containment vessel of reactor 2 was an accomplishment. But it also highlighted how tough it will be to further pinpoint the exact location of the melted fuel, let alone remove it some time in the future. The biggest hurdle is the extremely lethal levels of radiation inside the containment vessel that not only prevent humans from getting near but have also crippled robots and other mechanical devices. Safely removing the melted fuel would be a best-case scenario but the risks and costs should be weighed against the option of leaving the melted fuel in the crippled reactors, some experts said.

Uber and Lyft might be the leading ride-hailing companies in the U.S. currently, but it seems that other companies are also making a foray into the market. Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing company is reportedly setting up a new lab at Mountain View, California, which will focus on intelligent driving systems, artificial-intelligence-based transport security and self-driving. According to Recode, Didi wants to move its AI operations to California since it is gradually becoming a "Mecca of the self-driving industry" and has the talent pool available for the same. Didi first gained recognition outside China when it acquired Uber's China assets in August 2016. The company seems to be hot on Uber's trail since it has also employed former Uber engineer Charlie Miller.

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is betting big on its dominance in machine learning and artificial intelligence to break into the cloud market, a message that was the underlying theme on the first day of the technology giant's cloud conference that began here on Wednesday. It also made a slew of announcements further strengthening its place as the leader in machine learning and artificial intelligence platforms. "We put $30 billion in the Google Cloud Platform," said Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google's parent company Alphabet. He added that big data, or large data sets that are analysed to reveal patterns through machine learning and artificial intelligence, "is so powerful that nation states will fight over it". Google announced big names, such as HSBC, Colgate-Palmolive, the Home Depot, SAP, Disney, Verizon and Ebay as customers, most of who have large data sets to the tune of billions of records.

Mumbai: As pro vice-chancellor (product and partner development) of the University of Sunderland in the UK, Prof. John MacIntyre's brief includes covering research, innovation, knowledge exchange, employer engagement and regional economy. Since 1996, MacIntyre has also been the editor-in-chief of Neural Computing and Applications--an international scientific peer- reviewed journal published by Springer Verlag. In an interview, he talks about why artificial intelligence (AI) needs to be looked at more positively and how AI can contribute to society. MacIntyre will also address EmTech India 2017--an emerging tech conference organized by Mint and MIT Technology Review--on 9 March in New Delhi. You completed your PhD in applied AI, focussing on the use of neural networks in predictive maintenance.