Crime Prediction software analyzes existing patterns from police databases It uses the data to predict when and where an event is likely to occur next It's hoped this can alert patrol teams to which districts may need more attention It's hoped this can alert patrol teams to which districts may need more attention Nanotech'superbatteries' that can last longer and charge... Water discovery! Scientists find a new state of matter for... Travelling star heading towards Earth could cause a... Consumer Reports refuses to recommend Apple's new MacBook... Nanotech'superbatteries' that can last longer and charge... Water discovery! Scientists find a new state of matter for... Travelling star heading towards Earth could cause a... Consumer Reports refuses to recommend Apple's new MacBook... Minority Report-style crime prediction has edged closer to reality with a new AI software launched in Dubai. CCTV footage shows group of youths launch brutal assault on man Male guests in a Chinese wedding flock to harass a bridesmaid Guests throw chairs as huge fight breaks out during wedding Man's amazing backflip saves child from out of control car Santa delivers! Little girl asks Santa for her daddy to come home Fearless free solo climber passes rock climbers at speed Video shows Brooklyn lawyer who verbally attacked Ivanka on plane POTUS and FLOTUS give their last holiday message from the White House Girl walks around London with no jeans - can the public tell?

Microsoft Director of Strategic Investments, Limor Lahiani, speaks at Geektime's Techfest in November 2016. Microsoft's director of strategic engagements shows off company's work applying NLP to genetics and other issues impacting humanity Microsoft's director of strategic engagements shows off company's work applying NLP to genetics and other issues impacting humanity The hall of several hundred people listened attentively as the speaker explained in perfectly summarized, yet pointed detail how big data was turning over the biotech industry. She was showing off the way that one of her startups, Miroculus, had begun to use natural language processing (NLP) to match microRNA -- a fraction of DNA that prevents protein production, thus triggering certain genes. "In order to have these genes observable and expressed, there are processes," Limor Lahiani recently said on stage at Geektime's DevFest, describing the process of developing APIs to analyze the corpus of data, manage the extraction, and then classify the information. Lahiani is director of strategic engagements and manager of Microsoft's Partner Catalyst program, a partnership scheme with startups and promising developers to work on cutting edge tech projects.

When Seton Medical Center Austin earlier this week unveiled Poli, its newest nurse's aide-in-training, the robot looked as if it had been lifted from a Hollywood backlot, but with one notable difference: It spoke with a child's voice. Functionally, Poli is still a child. She still relies on lessons imparted by her creators as she navigates the world and learns from her experiences. Somewhere along the way, Poli picked up a hint of teenage martyrdom. "I'm sleepy," she said at one point.

This essay has described how blockchain technology can help AI, by drawing on my personal experiences in both AI and blockchain research.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to meet with Ben Goertzel in his lab at Hong Kong Science Park to take a tour of Hanson Robotics and meet with the team working on his Artificial General Intelligence project, OpenCog. The lab itself was not that impressive, a fairly cramped space filled with synthetic disembodied faces attached to robot frames. But it was a humdrum of activity as all around people were fiddling with wires and adjusting faces and furiously typing away at their keyboards. And even though the space they are working out of may not be overwhelming awe inspiring, what they are attempting to do here is. To put it simply, they are trying to create humanoid robots that are as intelligent as we are.

If you loathe having to talk out loud when ordering a meal at a fast-food restaurant, and you happen to love KFC, then you might want to start considering packing it up and moving to China where Baidu has just teamed up with the major chicken brand to create a more automated restaurant. At this particular KFC location in China, patrons can walk up to a display and simply let it decide a meal for them (don't fret: the user can override with their own choices). The idea here is to see how good Baidu's algorithm can guess what someone's in the mood for, based on a variety of metrics and some machine learning. In a particular example, a man in his 20s might get a suggestion for a crispy chicken burger, chicken wings, and the healthiest part of the meal, a Coca Cola. A woman in her 50s, by contrast, could be recommended a delicious porridge and soybean milk for breakfast.

Bandai Namco Asia recently revealed a bunch of new screenshots from the English version of Super Robot Wars V and that it would be released in Asia in February. However, the post has since been taken down so it's unclear what is going on. While it is very likely that the English version of the game is indeed coming out in February, the same time as the Japanese release, the fact the post was taken down is somewhat strange. It's been known for a while, that Super Robot Wars V would be getting an Asian release localized into English. This in and of itself was momentous news and marks the first time in the 25 year history of the series that a mainline release will have an English version.

Datorama, a cross-channel marketing analytics firm that's scored $50 million in funding, has introduced a voice-activated component of its platform, allowing clients to summon their previous campaign measurement data by asking their Alexa-enabled device. The new querying capability is intended to supplement the traditional dashboard reporting that marketers are accustomed to, giving them an additional way to pull quick data points in the midst of a business conversation -- during a board meeting, for example. "At the speed of conversation, there are instances where maybe you need information," said Jay Wilder, director of product marketing at Datorama. "Wouldn't it be great if you could just ask the question and get the response back immediately without friction?" The Datorama platform is integrated with Alexa.

There is no doubt that 2016 has been a tumultuous year. From Brexit to Trump and the Ukraine to Syria, we have seen many upheavals on the geopolitical front. A lot has happened in Fintech, too, although here the upheaval has in my opinion been almost all positive. Today FinTech is firmly established as one of the biggest sectors in all technology. We can look forward to more tumult I think. If there is one overarching FinTech trend, I would say that several things that were only "potentials" in 2016 will become much more concrete.

REVOLVING DOOR -- "Trump appoints his business attorney to manage international negotiations," by CNN's Elise Labott and Teddy Schleifer: "Jason Greenblatt, the executive vice president and chief legal officer for Trump's business empire, will take on the title of special representative for international negotiations. A source familiar with the appointment told CNN that Greenblatt will primarily will be working on Israel-Palestinian peace process, the American relationship with Cuba and trade agreements."