The universal scope of Internet advertising makes it an ideal way to attract customers and lure young participants into human trafficking activities including sex and prostitution. But behind those ads are layers of online data that can help investigators track down the criminals who organize and profit from such exploitation. A fledgling Pittsburgh startup, Marinus Analytics, has a software product, Traffic Jam, that mines the so-called "deep Web" for information and clues about trafficking operations. It is being used by law enforcement officials, including the FBI, to identify offenders and rescue victims. Emily Kennedy, the founder of Marinus founder and its chief executive, began developing the product while she was a student at Carnegie Mellon University.

Once considered the subject of our imagination, best left in the realm of science fiction, robots are now a growing technology that is rapidly changing our world. We have become accustomed to seeing them on our TV screens in cartoons such as The Jetsons (1962-1988) or in films such as Big Hero 6 (2014), Elysium (2013) or Robot and Frank (2012). Whether they are helping surgeons with keyhole surgery, manufacturing medicine or assisting the elderly, it is clear that robots have left the realm of science fiction and are a reality that may soon be coming to a home or health facility near us. There are clear benefits to using robots as seen by countries such as Japan where robots now help care for its ageing population. In the UK, which is also facing similar issues, NHS Western Isles and NHS Shetland for example have been trialling the use of a robot called'Giraff' in patients' homes.

Tiny rockets are going to be sent into space to study the far universe in the most ambitious space exploration project in history. Scientists including Stephen Hawking and backers such as internet investor Yuri Milner and Mark Zuckerberg will send "nano craft" deep into space to explore the most remote regions that humans have ever seen, by far. The hugely ambitious project could reveal deep secrets of the universe and will allow people to photograph one of the most likely places to hold life on other worlds. The Starshot Project hopes to get the tiny robots out to the Alpha Centauri star system, 25 trillion years away. Getting there through normal means would take 30,000 years – but the new project hopes that using the tiny rockets will allow them to get there in just 20.

The robots are coming -- to help run your life or sell you stuff -- at an online texting service near you. In coming months, users of Facebook's Messenger app, Microsoft's Skype and Canada's Kik can expect to find new automated assistants offering information and services at a variety of businesses. These messaging "chatbots" are basically software that can conduct human-like conversation and do simple jobs once reserved for people. Google and other companies are reportedly working on similar ideas. In Asia, software butlers are already part of the landscape.

Since Google's computer program AlphaGo won four out of five matches against South Korea's champion Go player, Japanese governmental officials are seriously wondering whether artificial intelligence (AI) is the way to rewrite Japan's blueprint for the future. There is precedent for programs beating humans. IBM's Deep Blue beat chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997, and in 2012, computer programs beat professionals of Shogi, also known as Japanese chess. But the Japanese government has never been as shaken as this time. That's because Go, which is played on a grid of 19 horizontal lines and 19 vertical lines, is considered "the last bastion of human intelligence."

Employing robots and artificial intelligence in Chinese restaurants has turned out to be not such a smart idea after all, with restaurants in Guangzhou either closing down or firing their mechanical staff.

Prepare to hear a lot of news Tuesday on Facebook, as the social networking titan launches its f8 developers conference in San Francisco. Get familiar with the word "chatbot." The social network will likely have plenty to say about it during its f8 keynote address Tuesday. This comes off the heels of Microsoft's experiments with chatbots on Twitter. Facebook is also expected to share more updates on its Messenger platform.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Market By Technology (Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (Nlp), Image Processing, And Speech Recognition), Application & Geography - Global Forecast To 2020" report to their offering. The author forecasts the artificial intelligence market to grow from USD 419.7 Million in 2014 to USD 5.05 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 53.65% from 2015 to 2020. The major factors driving the growth of this market include diversified application areas of AI, improved productivity, and increased level of customer satisfaction. In addition, the rising demand for intelligent systems is expected to propel the growth of the market in the next five years. The scope of this report covers the artificial intelligence market by technology, application, and region.

China will "lead the world" in producing artificially intelligent hardware as the tech industry continues to find breakthroughs in this field, according to a Microsoft executive. Citing examples like Baidu, Harry Shum, executive vice-president of technology and research in Microsoft, said Chinese internet companies are playing an important role in advancing artificial intelligence. "Baidu is building autonomous driving vehicles, and many other Chinese companies are ... doing serious technology development in the artificial intelligence area," said Shum. "If we have the opportunity to democratise artificial intelligence technology through the cloud, we just need a few [Chinese companies] with good ideas and we can [advance] very quickly." He added that he is "bullish" about the artificially intelligent hardware industry in China because cities like Shenzhen are building an ecosystem that supports the technology. "In southern China, you can see these different layers, from manufacturing capabilities, sensors, circuit design, all of that," said Shum. "They used to make low-end phones, but now [can you imagine] what they could do next?"

Chatbots are on the rise, but what are they and why is everyone talking about (and to) them? Facebook is widely expected to launch an app store for chatbots at its developer conference this week. Meanwhile, Microsoft has described chatbots as the "new apps" with chief executive Satya Nadella saying that they "unlock conversation as a platform". The BBC "created" its own one-off chatbot to answer some of the burning questions you may have about this latest technology. What can I help you with Jane?