Artificial intelligence (AI) or cognitive technology is no longer about a machine playing chess. AI is on the streets driving our cars. It is in our call centres talking to customers. AI is drafting and reviewing legal documents with immaculate precision. It is even trading using indices derived from satellite imagery.

The Netflix-produced hit was the result of an algorithm coupled with Netflix's large collection of data on what viewers like to watch. Taking that as inspiration, ad agency McCann Erickson recently added the world's first artificial intelligence (AI)-based creative director to its team in Japan. The memorably named AI-CD β will use data on award-winning commercials to produce ideas for new campaigns. The company isn't the first to let the math do the thinking: In 2014, Hong Kong–based venture capital firm Deep Knowledge Ventures announced a new addition to its board of directors, VITAL, which uses data to vote on potential investments. More recently, Finnish tech company Tieto welcomed Alicia T., an AI complete with a conversational interface, to the board (a win for board diversity?) of its new data-driven business services unit.

A pdf version of this document created using latex can be downloaded by clicking here. Polymorphic malware detection is challenging due to the continual mutations miscreants introduce to successive instances of a particular virus. Such changes are akin to mutations in biological sequences. Recently, high-throughput methods for gene sequence classification have been developed by the bioinformatics and computational biology communities. In this paper, we argue that these methods can be usefully applied to malware detection. Unfortunately, gene classification tools are usually optimized for and restricted to an alphabet of four letters (nucleic acids). Consequently, we have selected the Strand gene sequence classifier, which offers a robust classification strategy that can easily accommodate unstructured data with any alphabet including source code or compiled machine code. To demonstrate Stand's suitability for classifying malware, we execute it on approximately 500GB of malware data provided by the Kaggle Microsoft Malware Classification Challenge (BIG 2015) used for predicting 9 classes of polymorphic malware.

When the Nintendo Switch was announced late last year, fans were understandably very, very excited. Who could resist Zelda, Mario, and Skyrim on the move? The morning commute could - if Nintendo delivers - be something of a blessing, offering an hour of quality gaming that doesn't drain your mobile data (*cough* Hearthstone *cough*). But that's the big question: can Nintendo deliver? That initial three-minute teaser, released in October 2016, promised so much.

TEHRAN, Iran – Sustained gunfire rang out over central Tehran on Monday afternoon as anti-aircraft guns targeted what officials said was a drone flying over the Iranian capital. Many residents ran to rooftops and craned their necks to see what was happening. Others sought shelter as bursts of machine gun fire echoed through the streets. The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Tehran Governor Isa Farhadi as saying that the gunfire targeted a drone near restricted airspace in the capital. It wasn't clear who owned the drone, which he described as a quadcopter. That suggests it may have been operated by a local hobbyist or aerial photographer rather than a foreign government.

The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm. China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every country in the region had massive increases between 2010 and 2015, including those least equipped to deal with the growing mountain of discarded smartphones, computers, TVs, air conditioners and other goods. On average, electronic waste in the 12 countries in the study had increased by nearly two thirds in the five years, totaling 12.3 million tons in 2015 alone. A worker arranges used electronic equipment at a repair shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Dubbed the'Sea Hunter', the 132ft ship is designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board. Now, the 132-foot Sea Hunter trimaran, is set to get an upgrade - turning it into a stealthy killing machine. The Navy has revealed plans to expand the mission portfolio of the craft so that it can conduct surface warfare missions, fire weapons and launch electronic attacks. The 132ft-long (40-metre) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface without a crew. The ship's projected $20 million (£14.2 million) price tag and its $20,000 (£14,300) daily operating cost make it relatively inexpensive for the navy The 132ft-long (40-metre) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface without a crew.

Pornographic videos are secretly being hidden on YouTube. Pirates are using the site's video hosting services to host adult videos. And there appear to be very little that Google, which owns YouTube, can do about it. YouTube has rules banning both sexual content and pirated videos, meaning that none of the videos should be available on the site. But many pirates have found a way around that restriction, meainng that they are able to use Google's reliable hosting services without having them taken down, reports TorrentFreak.

Virtual reality and artificial intelligence products took center stage at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the platform where the world's trends in scientific and technological innovations are put on display, with companies from China, which accounted for one third of the leading exhibitors at the event, visibly demonstrating their newfound stature. Suning also hosted the "China Innovation North America Summit Forum", giving 3C (computers, communications and consumer electronics) home appliance makers around the world a presentation on how to fast track their products into the Chinese market. The organizer of the exhibition was extremely complimentary in his comments about Suning. In a chat with Suning's exhibition team, Consumer Technology Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro said CES is a platform that connects all the participants in the world of high tech, while Suning is an important sales platform for innovative technological products and services, and, as a result of the role that Suning plays, he looks forward to seeing further cooperation between the two parties. Executive vice president of IT at Suning Commerce Joshua Xiang explained: "With the success of its transition to e-commerce, Suning plans to introduce intelligence into the retail industry as a new driving force for the further development of online retail".

Donald Trump's US election victory and the UK's vote to leave the European Union will cast a long shadow over the global elite's annual gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week. This year, 3,000 politicians, business leaders, economists, entrepreneurs, charity leaders and celebrities will head to the World Economic Forum (WEF) to discuss the state of the world. As usual there'll be big speeches, ultra-tight security, and experts in every field under the wintry sun. There'll also be plenty of champagne and canapes for delegates gathering in expensive hotels to discuss issues such as inequality and the backlash against globalisation. Twelve months of seismic shocks have shaken Davos Man and Woman's world view, and left them struggling to understand and address the new reality.