Qualcomm's new Vision Intelligence Platform is part of this trend. The Qualcomm platform features the chipmaker's first family of system-on-chips (SoCs) built specifically for the IoT using an advanced 10 nm FinFET (Fin Field Effect Transistor) process that produces substantially faster performance and efficiencies than previous chips. The platform's chip models, QCS605 and QCS603, are designed to provide greater computing power for on-device cameras and machine learning. The company envisions these chips being used for a variety of applications, including robots, the smart home, and smart cameras. For utilities, these could become valuable in cameras mounted amid critical infrastructure such as substations, or in drones that monitor the grid.

Automakers are trying to figure out where they fit in the autonomous-driving future. With sales falling, some of these companies are exploring the idea of becoming ride-hailing services too. BMW is one of them and during the opening of its autonomous Driving Campus in Germany, it offered rides in an autonomous 7 Series that gave us a glimpse of its plans. The ride itself was short. A quick circle on a closed course peppered with stationary BMWs in a parking lot -- but it was autonomous. No remote controls, no rigidly set path that the car follows to the millimeter.

A filmmaker has captured heartbreaking images of albatrosses killed by plastic on a remote Pacific island. Decaying birds are shown with their stomachs full of plastic waste while young chicks are pictured surroundeded by debris. One picture shows a young bird with its neck folded into its back while seemingly still living in the nest where it was born. The snaps shine a light on the plastic pollution that has killed tens of thousands of birds on the island, which sits 2,000 miles (3,200km) from the nearest continent. American photographer and filmmaker Chris Jordan said he hopes the shocking pictures force people to emotionally engage with the problems plastic is causing on a global scale.

To reduce markdowns and break out of a lull in sales, H&M is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data to tailor its merchandising mix in its brick-and-mortar stores. The fashion retailer is using algorithms to gain insights from returns, receipts and data from loyalty cards to improve its bottom lines, according to news source Retail Dive reports. H&M is utilizing the technology in a store located in an upscale section of Stockholm, Sweden. It has so far learned that women make up most of its customer base, and that fashionable items such as floral skirts have sold at better-than-predicted rates. Sales have improved with these insights, and H&M is moving away from the idea of stocking each location with a similar selection.

When driving to the office, Marie, CIO of a large bank in France, often has this quote from Bill Gates on her mind: "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction." This morning the thought is particularly persistent. Her company has recently embarked on a digital transformation program and she has been looking to recruit employees with different skill sets in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (IoT). Marie knows that the secret to digital is analog.

The Bank of England's chief economist, Andy Haldane, has urged his colleagues to examine the musical mood of the nation when contemplating changes to the Bank's interest rate. How could an increase in Taylor Swift downloads or a decline in the popularity of rock and roll be relevant for managing the economy? It all comes down to measuring economic sentiment. This is a way of gauging how people feel about the economy, which behavioural economists use to make predictions about how it will respond to different policies. For example, if people are generally pessimistic about the economy then raising interest rates might encourage them to stop borrowing and spending by so much that it harms the economy.

Imagine having an unlimited pool of office workers that you can train to do any task, across any function at your firm; that would be a valuable way to improve your productivity. Now envision that your resource pool is not human but software, delivered from the cloud to anywhere in the world, 24 hours, 7 days a week, without needing to take a break and never making a mistake. "It's a very futuristic image, but thanks to robotic process automation (RPA) and other artificial intelligence (AI) technologies there's nothing visionary about it," said Terry Walby, Chief Executive of London-based Thoughtonomy. Thoughtonomy has created a Virtual Workforce platform that addresses the'productivity of office-based workers' not by replacing employees with virtual ones, but by'automating work' and weeding out inefficiencies in day-to-day workflow processes. Productivity in the UK has dramatically stalled since the financial crisis, growing at a mere average of 0.2 percent since.

A recent study from Bain indicates that automation will fuel an economic boom for the next 10 -15 years, far disruptive than anything we have seen in the last 60 years. Enterprises are seeking to invest in automation and this newest wave will stimulate further investment estimated to be $8T. Poised to capitalize on this unprecedented interest and market opportunity is UiPath. Its focus is on robotic process automation through its software platform that is designed for enterprise companies to automate repetitive tasks. Streamlining workflows in a scalable manner and saving corporations money, the platform allows you to train software robots, acting as an operating system for your automation needs.

Factmata - An incredible organisation who are using AI to create a cleaner, cutting edge media ecosystem to protect the public, businesses, publishers from misleading content.

The UK-based Alan Turing Institute is launching a new research programme in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) for public policy. Led by Professor Helen Margetts, a Turing Fellow and Professor of Society and Internet at the University of Oxford, the programme aims to foster government innovation. Researchers will work with policy-makers to explore how data-driven public service provision and policy innovation might solve long running'wicked' policy problems to develop the ethical foundations for the use of data in policy-making and to restore government's role as a leader in tech innovation. The new programme builds on the Turing's ongoing work with government. Working with the Institute's Data Ethics Group -- which leads the Turing's research in understanding the ethical and societal implications of data science and AI -- the Institute is advising the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the recently announced Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and is a founding partner of the Ada Lovelace Institute, which will be launched by the Nuffield Foundation later this year.