Dynamic text networks have been widely studied in recent years, primarily because the Internet stores textual data in a way that allows links between different documents. Articles on the Wikipedia (Hoffman et al., 2010), citation networks in journal articles (Moody, 2004), and linked blog posts (Latouche et al., 2011) are examples of dynamic text networks, or networks of documents that are generated over time. But each application has idiosyncratic features, such as the structure of the links and the nature of the time varying documents, so analysis typically requires bespoke models that directly address those aspects.

Driven by a declining population, a trend for developing robotic babies has emerged in Japan as a means of encouraging couples to become'parents'. The approaches taken vary widely and are driven by different philosophical approaches that also beg a number of questions, not least whether these robo-tots will achieve the aim of their creators. To understand all of this it is worth exploring the reasons behind the need to promote population growth in Japan. The new Kirobo Mini robot from Toyota (pictured) can't do much but chatter in a high-pitched voice, but supposedly has the smarts of a five-year-old Studies have found that humans and robots can share a'high degree of bonding,' especially with social robots that have a human-like appearance. But, humans may find certain realistic human qualities unappealing.

For years, the retail industry has been talking about the rise of mobile and how it may disrupt everything. But according to a new report released today by App Annie -- an app analytics and market intelligence company -- the future is already here. Mobile, especially in the U.S., has already taken over. Looking at both online-first and "bricks-and-clicks" retailers, the study shows that, while mobile is affecting everyone, the U.S. is apparently leading the way. "Most surprising is how well U.S. bricks-and-clicks retailers are doing relative to others outside of the U.S.," Danielle Levitas, SVP of research and marketing communications at App Annie, told me.

While transportation, hospitality, and financial services are all industries being disrupted by technology, the next big area poised for massive, tech-driven change may be the human workforce. "We are going to move from people to things," explained Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup's Latin America business, speaking Monday at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif. "We are expecting 500 billion objects to become connected to the internet and this automation is going to hollow out middle and working class jobs," explained Fraser. "Technology is replacing these jobs." The technology Fraser is referring to is artificial intelligence--the machine learning that powers driverless cars and other intelligent machines that are slowly taking over human tasks.

First it was the headphone jack, and now Apple wants to get rid of paper money. CEO Tim Cook told the Nikkei Asian Review that the firm believes consumers want to live in a cashless society and will use Apple Pay to make it happen. Cook made these comments just a month after the iPhone 7 became the first iPhone to support FeliCa, the contactless payment standard used in Japan. CEO Tim Cook told the Nikkei Asian Review that the firm believes consumers want to live in a cashless society and will use Apple Pay to make it happen. Apple Pay works by holding the phone up to a card reader and pressing a finger on the TouchID button.

Harper Lee published her Pulitzer Prize winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960. A couple of years later, Gregory Peck won an Academy for Best Actor in his role as Atticus in the movie adaptation. What many do not realize is Lee was given a grant by friends to take off work for a year and concentrate on writing the book. Her story has fired the imagination of many who would like all of us to find similar friends and get a similar grant. Imagine what wonderful things we could produce.

What happens when two human political journalists compete against a computer over which can do the best job predicting the issues that will dominate the news in the presidential election? Well, you are about to find out. The two humans and the computers each got to predict five issues per presidential candidate that would get the most coverage in the news and on the blogs between Sept. 12 and Oct. 12. (The time frame covers only a few days of the release of the Donald Trump's lewd comments about women. So the final list isn't dominated by that controversy.) The two humans are Simon Maloy of Salon.com and Jonah Goldberg of the National Review.

The best books about creativity can simultaneously spark new ideas in the reader while also giving them a compelling narrative to follow. As the White House staff polishes the silver for what is likely to be the last state dinner of the Obama administration, it's worth taking a look back at how the first couple -- the youngest to occupy the White House since JFK and Jackie -- has shaped the institution of the state dinner. We talk a lot about the U.S. publishers who are on Flipboard, but we've also been busy in Europe, where our readership has surpassed 20 million monthly active readers. For Syrian students now living in Turkey, the path through higher-education is far from smooth. For the first time in history, Washington has accused a foreign government of trying to influence the US election.

USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava takes his hands off the wheel of a Tesla Model S sedan while driving down the 280 Freeway north of the Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. Pressure is building on Tesla Motors in Europe to stop using the name "Autopilot" to designate its partial self-driving system -- and the concerns could reverberate to the U.S. The issue is that Tesla's designation can encourage drivers to put too much reliance on Autopilot to protect them from crashing and not pay proper attention behind the wheel. Although Tesla says it repeatedly tells drivers that they need to stay in charge, a Tesla owner was killed in May when his car broadsided a tractor-trailer that turned in front of him. The Autopilot system was engaged at the time. Over the weekend, it was reported that Germany's Transport Ministry sent a letter to the California-based automaker telling it to stop using the name in advertising.

Chinese search engine giant Baidu is launching a "conversational" medical chatbot designed to make diagnosing illnesses easier. The bot is named Melody and comes built into the company's iOS and Android Baidu Doctor app, which launched in China in 2015. Baidu Doctor allows users to contact local doctors, book appointments, and ask questions, with the chatbot intended to speed up this process. Melody builds on the Baidu Doctor app, which launched in China in 2015. Patients can open the app and ask a question, and Melody will respond with context-relevant questions to clarify information such as symptom frequency or duration.