Ben Dickson is a software engineer and the founder of TechTalks. More posts by this contributor: Why it's so hard to create unbiased artificial intelligence How to facilitate the path to brownfield IoT development Why it's so hard to create unbiased artificial intelligence How to facilitate the path to brownfield IoT development Why it's so hard to create unbiased artificial intelligence While machine learning is introducing innovation and change to many sectors, it also is bringing trouble and worries to others. One of the most worrying aspects of emerging machine learning technologies is their invasiveness on user privacy. From rooting out your intimate and embarrassing secrets to imitating you, machine learning is making it hard to not only hide your identity but also keep ownership of it and prevent from being attributed to you words you haven't uttered and actions you haven't taken. Here are some of the technologies that might have been created with good-natured intent, but can also be used for evil deeds when put into the wrong hands.

Editors at the MIT Technology Review recently weighed in with their annual review of the world's 50 Smartest Companies. This list celebrates the most effective pairing of innovation and business across the globe. For the first time, more than 20% of MIT's picks rely on artificial intelligence to support their business at a fundamental level, somewhat redefining what it means to be a truly "smart" company today. How many of these 13 artificial intelligence leaders are you already using? It's working on speech recognition intelligence called Deep Speech 2. This reduces the chance of accidents on autopilot by 50% relative to the safety record of human drivers, according to CEO Elon Musk.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is most prevalent in the automotive and electronic industries and countries with a particular focus on exports, such as Mexico and developing economies in Asia, are identified as the "most exposed" to an AI influx, according to a policy brief by the UN Conference on Trade and Development published this week in conjunction with research from the World Bank. "The share of occupations that could experience significant automation is actually higher in developing countries than in more advanced ones, where many of these jobs have already disappeared, and this concerns about two thirds of all jobs," the policy brief said. The UN report, published Tuesday, advised that though the use of robots could bring new opportunities for developing economies, it would be important to consider taxing the use of automation which should, in theory, prevent inequality.

It's hard to believe that Black Friday and the 2016 holiday shopping season are almost here. The good news for those of us shopping for personal consumer electronics and tech gadgets for friends and family this holiday season is that there are some real bargains. Tech innovation has improved dramatically over the last year and because of competition the pricing has come down significantly. This year, I've structured the holiday tech gift guide a little differently. I had the opportunity to review many products this year, but I've narrowed the guide down to my top 30 featured products -- from tablets and phones to cameras and drones. I'm also putting together a future gift guide of less costly tech items in categories like kids, health/fitness, home/security and audio so be on the lookout for that. Always remember to check online for the lowest current prices on these items as most will be discounted as we get closer to the holidays. Remember, Hanukkah begins on the evening of December 24 this year. The Surface Pro 4 is the perfect holiday gift for a loved one looking for a device for work or play -- especially for the student who doesn't want to schlep around a heavy computer laptop. Powered by an Intel Core processor, it offers up to nine hours of battery life. Paired with the $60 Surface Pen you can use it for detailed sketches and handwritten notes.

Recently, I needed to book a lunch meeting. To help coordinate, I asked Amy to assist and cc'd her on the email. "Amy," I wrote, "please help us find a time to meet. Let's plan for sushi at Tokyo Express on Spear Street." Amy looked at my calendar, found an open time suitable for everyone invited, and booked the meeting.

Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co. plans to equip its next Galaxy S smartphones with a Siri-like digital assistant, seeking to make a comeback after the global debacle that precipitated the death of its flawed Note 7 lineup. Samsung, which last month acquired US-based artificial intelligence software company Viv Labs Inc., said the Galaxy S8 slated for next year will come with AI-enabled features "significantly differentiated" from those of Apple Inc.'s Siri or Google, executive vice president Rhee In-jong told reporters. Those services now offer up potentially useful information from the weather to flight times based on user activity. The flagship Galaxy S line will prove crucial to salvaging Samsung's reputation in the wake of the fiasco surrounding a Note 7 device prone to bursting into flame. The recall and eventual cessation of the line is estimated to cost upwards of $6 billion and pushed profits at its mobile division to a record low in the September quarter.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not one big, specific technology. Rather, it is comprised of one or more building block technologies. So, to understand AI, you have to understand each of these nine building block technologies. Now, you could argue that there are more technologies than the ones listed here, but any additional technology can fit under one of these building blocks. Knowledge engineering is a process to understand and then represent human knowledge in data structures, semantic models, and heuristics (rules).

The next frontier for artificial intelligence may involve teaching computers to distinguish albacore tuna from its yellowfin cousin. The Nature Conservancy, an environmental non-profit, is working with several Pacific Island nations and a big tuna fishing company to more easily count and identify fish caught at sea using cutting edge technology. The goal is to use trendy artificial intelligence techniques like deep learning to help fishermen reduce the number of protected animals like sharks and turtles that are accidentally caught along with the tuna. The Nature Conservancy hopes that the program could prevent overfishing and help threatened and endangered sea life recover without putting fishermen out of work. "We have real optimism that data science community can help us differentiate a turtle from a tuna, and flag when a shark comes on board," said Mark Zimring, a project director for The Nature Conservancy.

Fujitsu Reports Boost to Todai Robot's College Exam Scores A revolutionary AI technique is about to transform the self-driving car. Here's how Google Play is using AI to improve search Nvidia Boom Thanks to Artificial Intelligence: Can the Chipmaker Keep It Up? Stay up-to-date on the topics you care about. We'll send you an email alert whenever a news article matches your alert term. It's free, and you can add new alerts at any time.

SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics says it has agreed to acquire auto-systems maker Harman for $8 billion as the South Korean giant eyes the growing market for connected cars. Samsung said in a statement Monday it will pay $112.00 per share in cash for the Stamford, CT.-based company. Overseas acquisitions are high on Samsung's agenda. Last month, the company bought artificial intelligence firm Viv Labs, founded by creators of Apple's Siri. It also recently bought a cloud service company, a mobile payments firm and a connected home startup.