In a world where personal information is ubiquitous and accessible, shouldn't you have the right to be forgotten? How should we deal with traces of our online selves? These are just two of many questions and issues explored in Sheila Jasanoff's new book, The Ethics of Invention, which published this week. Jasanoff, a professor of science and technology studies at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, explores ethical issues that have been created by technological advances--from how we should deal with large-scale disasters such as Bhopal or Chernobyl to the more hidden conundrums of data collection, privacy, and our relationship with tech giants like Facebook and Google. Jasanoff believes we don't sufficiently acknowledge how much power we've handed over to technology, which, she writes, "rules us as much as laws do."

NEW DELHI: Over the next few weeks, you may encounter a robot at a branch of HDFC Bank as the country's second largest private sector lender tries to match Japanese players that have launched humanoids. Taking a cue from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, which launched a robot named Nao last year, and Mizuho Bank's Pepper, HDFC Bank has launched'Project AI' (artificial intelligence) where the first product is now ready for deployment. Sources said the plan is to introduce the robot, whose name is being finalised, in one of HDFC Bank's branches and, based on the experience, the project may be scaled up. So, where will it debut? The plan is to deploy it in one of the branches in Mumbai first, certainly one that does not deal with too many senior citizens who need personalised service.

August saw the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) host its first Cyber Grand Challenge – the first hacking competition not involving people. During this event, teams left their systems alone to single-handedly find, diagnose and fix software flaws in real time. Elsewhere, researchers at MIT are not only developing machine learning systems that automatically mine dark web marketplaces for vulnerabilities and zero-day attacks and reports them back as well as software that automatically fixes buggy code, but also a platform that can predict 85% of cyber-attacks. Machine learning, deep learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are hot topics at the moment, and while there's plenty of research going on, there's also some practical applications that can be deployed right now to make life easier for cybersecurity professionals. A glut of new start-ups, from the likes of Darktrace, Cylance, Deep Instinct, and HackerONE, plus established player such as FireEye, IBM, and Forcepoint, are all working on bringing self-learning systems into the world of security.

Chances are pretty high that you've talked to a chatbot at least once in your life. If you've ever asked Siri a question, gone shopping through Kik, or requested directions from Cortana, you've stepped into the world of chatbots. And while chatbots are great for consumers, they're downright AMAZING for brands. Bots fulfil all kinds of roles in the business world, such as facilitating team communication, making your products easy to find and purchase for your customers, and even smoothing out customer service concerns. And yes--even start-ups can tap into this awesome potential.

The decline of a single company culture, a surge in freelance workers, a workforce reshaped by artificial intelligence, and a 13% leap in productivity for companies that invest in employee wellness programs, are among the key trends that will define the state of the workforce in the Middle East over the next two decades. The last of these trends could generate as much as a 0.1% to 0.3% uplift in the GDP of a typical OECD country, according to predictions by UBS. Jürg Zeltner, President of Wealth Management at UBS, said: "The workplace is becoming far more complex. The relationship between employee and employer looks set to change significantly in the coming years, especially among workers who are currently only a short way into their careers. It is important that we prepare for these changes. Not only could they impact us, but also a number of our clients who run and own their businesses."

What trends are truly inevitable? Our latest Freakonomics Radio episode is called "The Future (Probably) Isn't as Scary as You Think." Internet pioneer Kevin Kelly tries to predict the future by identifying what's truly inevitable. How worried should we be? Yes, robots will probably take your job -- but the future will still be pretty great. Below is a transcript of the episode, modified for your reading pleasure. For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post. And you'll find credits for the music in the episode noted within the transcript. When you try to envision the future, what do you see? Do you see a grim picture? A world, perhaps, in which humans have become marginalized? Where technologies created to help us have gained the upper hand? The film industry takes a rather dim view of the future, doesn't it? KEVIN KELLY: Indeed, I can't think of a single Hollywood movie about the future on this planet that I want to live in.

I have recently been on Twitter too much, and I tweet a lot about plastic surgery. I am also fascinated by #ai and #machinelearning, and have had some interesting discussions. In order to clarify some of my tweets and thoughts, I wrote this article. How is it Being Used in Life Today? How Is It Being Used in Medicine Today?

Artificial intelligence could improve diagnostic power of lung function tests European Lung ... IBM Watson AI Creates a Trailer for'Morgan' & It Is Creepy Russia: Neural network food app Borsch launches; Mail.ru invests in IT education;GetIntent plans ...

Artificial intelligence could improve diagnostic power of lung function tests European Lung ... IBM Watson AI Creates a Trailer for'Morgan' & It Is Creepy Russia: Neural network food app Borsch launches; Mail.ru invests in IT education;GetIntent plans ...

Artificial intelligence could improve diagnostic power of lung function tests European Lung ... IBM Watson AI Creates a Trailer for'Morgan' & It Is Creepy Russia: Neural network food app Borsch launches; Mail.ru invests in IT education;GetIntent plans ... IBM's Watson AI creates trailer for AI movie'Morgan'