Classical clustering algorithms typically either lack an underlying probability framework to make them predictive or focus on parameter estimation rather than defining and minimizing a notion of error. Recent work addresses these issues by developing a probabilistic framework based on the theory of random labeled point processes and characterizing a Bayes clusterer that minimizes the number of misclustered points. The Bayes clusterer is analogous to the Bayes classifier. Whereas determining a Bayes classifier requires full knowledge of the feature-label distribution, deriving a Bayes clusterer requires full knowledge of the point process. When uncertain of the point process, one would like to find a robust clusterer that is optimal over the uncertainty, just as one may find optimal robust classifiers with uncertain feature-label distributions. Herein, we derive an optimal robust clusterer by first finding an effective random point process that incorporates all randomness within its own probabilistic structure and from which a Bayes clusterer can be derived that provides an optimal robust clusterer relative to the uncertainty. This is analogous to the use of effective class-conditional distributions in robust classification. After evaluating the performance of robust clusterers in synthetic mixtures of Gaussians models, we apply the framework to granular imaging, where we make use of the asymptotic granulometric moment theory for granular images to relate robust clustering theory to the application.

Google will reportedly halt its work on a military project that had fomented an employee revolt. Google Cloud chief Diane Greene told employees that the company would not renew its contract with the US military, according to multiple reports, acceding to a broad backlash against Google developing technology that could be weaponised. A representative of Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google blasted for listing'Nazism' as tenet of California Republicans Google quietly removes'don't be evil' preface from code of conduct Hundreds of AI experts call on Google to stop weaponizing technology Google blasted for listing'Nazism' as tenet of California Republicans Google quietly removes'don't be evil' preface from code of conduct Thousands of workers had signed a letter asking leadership to end its involvement in a Pentagon pilot programme, known as Project Maven", that uses artificial intelligence to decipher video footage and could be used to improve targeted drone strikes. "We believe that Google should not be in the business of war", the letter read, cautioning that the tool could be used to "assist the US Government in military surveillance - and potentially lethal outcomes".

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your Automaton bloggers. We'll also be posting a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months; here's what we have so far (send us your events!): Let us know if you have suggestions for next week, and enjoy today's videos. Skydio's R1 can now follow cars, while not crashing into other stuff, of course: Telexistence thinks that having a telepresence robot that's humanoid on the other end will make it more natural to interact with, I'm guessing. And they've done a reasonable job with the design: I have to wonder what kind of latency you get between Japan and Hawaii, though.

File photo - A Google carpet is seen at the entrance of the new headquarters of Google France before its official inauguration in Paris, France Dec. 6, 2011. Google will not seek another contract for Project Maven, a controversial military program that uses artificial intelligence to improve drone targeting, according to Gizmodo. Citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, Gizmodo reports that Google will not seek another contract when the current Project Maven contract expires in 2019. The decision was announced by Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene at a meeting with employees Friday morning, it said. Greene reportedly cited the backlash against Project Maven, adding that the firm plans to announce new ethical principles about AI next week.

For some years now, the date of 2020 has been an arbitrary milestone, the moment when being transported by a self-driving vehicle would be normal in more and more cities around the world. That prediction, that scenario typically prompted denials from short-sighted people unable to understand the exponential development of technology and who preferred to believe that autonomous driving would always be a thing of the future. But technology and competition are nothing if not stubborn. We are in 2018, and the pioneering city of Phoenix, Arizona, where pioneer and leader in the field, Waymo, began testing autonomous vehicles without a safety driver in November 2017 is now being joined by more than 20 US cities, chosen according to their weather and road conditions, while other brands carry out tests in other cities around the world. In Arizona, driverless taxis are now due to start functioning normally in a few months.

Okay, so at this point we only know three things about the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. For one thing, it's called Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. For another, it's set in Ancient Greece. And finally, it will have a spiffy little keychain to go along with it. There are some other rumors floating around it, however, notably that it will feature dialogue choices for the first time in the series history, and that it will include a level of character customization that we haven't necessarily seen before. There's another rumor that interests me the most, however, and that's that this game takes some naval cues from the pirate-themed Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag.

The hysteria about the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. There seems to be no shortage of sensationalist news about how AI could cure diseases, accelerate human innovation and improve human creativity. Just looking at the media headlines, you might think that we are already living in a future where AI has infiltrated every aspect of society. While it is undeniable that AI has opened up a wealth of promising opportunities, it has also led to the emergence of a mindset that can be best described as "AI solutionism". This is the philosophy that, given enough data, machine learning algorithms can solve all of humanity's problems.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is disappointed by the US's "unjustified decision" to slap tariffs on EU steel and aluminium. The tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, which affect the EU, Canada and Mexico, came into effect on Friday. All three are planning retaliatory moves. Mrs May said the EU and UK should be exempted and would work together to "protect and safeguard our workers and industries". UK Steel said the tariffs, which apply to a wide range of steel and aluminium products such as sheets, plates, bars, pipes and "semi-finished" products, will damage not only the UK steel sector but also the US economy.

Organisations including the Food Standards Agency and the Department for Work and Pensions will be able to see UK citizens' entire internet browsing history within weeks. The Investigatory Powers Bill, which was all but passed into law this week, forces internet providers to keep a full list of internet connection records (ICRs) for a year and to make them available to the Government if asked. Those ICRs in effect serve as a full list of every website that people have visited, rather than collecting which specific pages are visited or what's done on them. ICRs will be made available to a wide range of government bodies. Those include expected law enforcement organisations such as the police, the military and the secret service, but also includes bodies such as the Food Standards Agency, the Gambling Commission, councils and the Welsh Ambulance Services National Health Service Trust.

The only ways of practically identifying people was either by fingerprint scanning or using CCTV camera to directly identify them. Recently with the advancements in machine learning, we have seen facial recognition software take a giant leap forward. But these have known issues which crop up from time to time. So here comes a system, powered by Artificial Intelligence, that can pick out an individual based on the way they walk! This artificial intelligence system is developed by a group of researchers from the University of Manchester and the University of Madrid.