Why we urgently need to measure AI's societal impacts How will artificial intelligence systems change the way we live? This is a tough question: on one hand, AI tools are producing compelling advances in complex tasks, with dramatic improvements in energy consumption, audio processing, and leukemia detection. There is extraordinary potential to do much more in the future. On the other hand, AI systems are already making problematic judgements that are producing significant social, cultural, and economic impacts in people's everyday lives. AI and decision-support systems are embedded in a wide array of social institutions, from influencing who is released from jail to shaping the news we see.

While it's a bit premature to start fearing for your job just yet, robots are on the rise in the restaurant sector. The US' influential National Restaurant Association show in Chicago featured three robots this year: a sushi bot that can make 3,600 pieces of nigiri per hour; a vending-machine-style robot that makes bespoke salads and a robotic fry cook. More impressively, over in Japan, Pizza Hut is trialling a robotic waiter called Pepper. If the promotional video is to be believed, the 3ft humanoid is extremely sophisticated, verbally interacting with diners in much the same way as a human being. It can even respond to questions about dietary requirements, giving info on calorie counts and fat content.

The days of dozing off at the back of a classroom may soon be coming to an end. A Chinese university lecturer is using facial-recognition technology on his students to check if they're bored – and he says it could be used in wider education. Professor Wei Xiaoyong, who lectures in computer science at Sichuan University in China, developed the'face reader' to identify the emotions of his students. A Chinese university lecturer is using facial-recognition technology on his students to check if they're bored. The reader produces a'curve' for each student, showing whether they are happy or not, and giving indications of whether they are bored.

The government unveiled has unveiled a campaign to raise productivity at construction sites by 20 percent by 2025 through the use of drones and artificial intelligence. At an inaugural meeting of officials and private-sector experts tasked with formulating new growth strategy policies, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Monday to wipe out the image of construction work as dangerous, dirty and demanding, and "drastically" change the work environment. The government envisions using drones to carry out surveying at public works sites such as tunnels, bridges and dams. The use of artificial intelligence is aimed at dramatically reducing the time required to carry out land surveys. The government plans to discuss topics to be included in its new growth strategy until around January and compile the strategy around the middle of next year.

But most people seem far more interested in what you can tell them about the future. The agricultural and industrial revolutions were about changing the world outside us. This century will be about changing the world inside us – making new entities with new kinds of brains. We are quickly acquiring powers that were always thought to be divine. I grew up in a small industrial suburb of Haifa, in Israel.

Why we urgently need to measure AI's societal impacts How will artificial intelligence systems change the way we live? This is a tough question: on one hand, AI tools are producing compelling advances in complex tasks, with dramatic improvements in energy consumption, audio processing, and leukemia detection. There is extraordinary potential to do much more in the future. On the other hand, AI systems are already making problematic judgements that are producing significant social, cultural, and economic impacts in people's everyday lives. AI and decision-support systems are embedded in a wide array of social institutions, from influencing who is released from jail to shaping the news we see.

Capgemini plans to make it easier for companies to embed AI, bots and blockchains into their businesses by launching the Applied Innovation Exchange. The Exchange will give businesses access to Capgemini's network of partners, experts and other resources to help them realise the potential of cutting-edge innovations, the firm said. The global network will offer companies support when they wish to build proof of concepts for the Internet of Things (IoT) and prototypes in specialist sectors such as financial services. "We're thrilled to be opening our latest Applied Innovation Exchange in London, giving business leaders the chance to not only see the latest innovations from a host of exciting companies across the globe, but also explore, here and now, what they could achieve within their own organisations," Rory Burghes, VP of the Exchange at Capgemini UK, said. "To support our group ambition and strategy around cloud and digital, and to go beyond our great delivery capabilities, we are focused on our clients who look to us as a major partner to address the demands on their ability to grow, compete and launch new business models leveraging innovation," Lanny Cohen, global CTO of the platform, added.

WASHINGTON – CIA Director John Brennan warned on Sunday that Russia has "exceptionally capable and sophisticated" computer capabilities and that the U.S. must be on guard. When asked in a television interview whether Russia is trying to manipulate the American presidential election, Brennan didn't say. But he noted that the FBI is investigating the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails, and he cited Moscow's aggressive intelligence collection and its focus on high-tech snooping. "I think that we have to be very, very wary of what the Russians might be trying to do in terms of collecting information in a cyber realm, as well as what they might want to do with it," he told CBS' "Face the Nation" on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. On the terrorism threat, Brennan said the U.S. government is much better now at sharing information.

HONG KONG--A Chinese venture-capital firm raised about 4.5 billion yuan ( 675 million) worth of fresh capital as the country's top venture firms are building up their cash piles amid a cooling environment for funding. Sinovation Ventures, co-founded by former Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. executive Kai-Fu Lee, on Monday said it closed two venture capital funds aimed at deals. A new U.S. dollar-denominated fund of 300 million was raised from global investors; Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn Technology Group was the anchor investor. Sinovation Ventures also raised a new yuan-denominated fund of 2.5 billion yuan, larger than its previous 500 million yuan fund. Chinese startups are increasingly preferring to go public in China where they are likely to get higher valuations.

Steam rolled out of the pot, and my kitchen was filled with an intoxicating blend of scents. I'd cooked a turkey ragu before, but as soon as I opened the pot, I knew this would be an entirely different experience. There were the familiar, comforting notes of ground turkey and mushrooms, but there was also earthiness from the beets, the fire of serrano chile, and an unexpected brightness from the coriander seed (coriander seed!). My dinner wouldn't have been out of place at one of San Francisco's trendy food trucks or upscale restaurants, but coming out of my 15 IKEA pot, it was unbelievable. As I mixed in the pasta and ricotta cheese and took the first incredible bite, I realized that A.I. could do a lot more for me than just beating me at Go.