In this work we introduce declarative statistics, a suite of declarative modelling tools for statistical analysis. Statistical constraints represent the key building block of declarative statistics. First, we introduce a range of relevant counting and matrix constraints and associated decompositions, some of which novel, that are instrumental in the design of statistical constraints. Second, we introduce a selection of novel statistical constraints and associated decompositions, which constitute a self-contained toolbox that can be used to tackle a wide range of problems typically encountered by statisticians. Finally, we deploy these statistical constraints to a wide range of application areas drawn from classical statistics and we contrast our framework against established practices.

The orbital debris problem presents an opportunity for inter-agency and international cooperation toward the mutually beneficial goals of debris prevention, mitigation, remediation, and improved space situational awareness (SSA). Achieving these goals requires sharing orbital debris and other SSA data. Toward this, I present an ontological architecture for the orbital debris domain, taking steps in the creation of an orbital debris ontology (ODO). The purpose of this ontological system is to (I) represent general orbital debris and SSA domain knowledge, (II) structure, and standardize where needed, orbital data and terminology, and (III) foster semantic interoperability and data-sharing. In doing so I hope to (IV) contribute to solving the orbital debris problem, improving peaceful global SSA, and ensuring safe space travel for future generations.

Yesterday I was honored to be one of the featured speakers at the TEDxReset Conference in Istanbul, Turkey where I predicted that over 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030. Since my 18-minute talk was about the rapidly shifting nature of colleges and higher education, I didn't have time to explain how and why so many jobs would be going away. Because of all of the questions I received afterwards, I will do that here. If you haven't been to a TEDx event, it is hard to confer the life-changing nature of something like this. Ali Ustundag and his team pulled off a wonderful event.

KLM has been at the forefront of new tech and social developments in the airline industry in 2017. The company just announced that its AI integration, supported by Digital Genius, has yielded excellent results in terms of improving responsiveness, without sacrificing the personal touch that forms a core part of the friendly KLM brand. As Vogel-Meijer explains, introducing AI was a necessary step to managing customer contacts, especially during times of travel disruption. However, KLM wanted to avoid inefficient automation which leads customers into an endless Q&A that never yields the right answers, so the machine learning capabilities of the AI interface were critical. "That was how started looking into artificial intelligence and we came across the path of DigitalGenius. The offer an algorithm implemented into Salesforce--our CRM system. It gives the agent a proposed answer to a question, based on what the algorithm has found on previous Q&A. Whenever the agent gets an answer, the agent can say this is great and send it out immediately or say it is not completely correct, and change it slightly. When they correct it, the algorithm learns and the system gets smarter. "We've been using it for one and a half years this week we are now able to optimize the first answers to specific questions.

The fast-growing world of artificial intelligence is about to receive another big boost this week. According to Coin Telegraph, the startup has secured $36 million in fresh funding to build next-generation AI technology. What more interesting about this latest startup news is that the company has managed to raise fresh funding in a very short time, the website said. In just 60 seconds after opening the sale to the public, the company sold out of the whole amount of available AGI tokens, bringing the total sale to a whopping $36 million. The company claims that in this week only, it has received registration application from about 20,000 people.

NSFW Warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions or images of explicit sexual acts. If you want to understand the myriad issues concerning sex robots that humanity needs to grapple with, you have two options. You can either spend several years studying for a PhD in either of those fields, or you can sit down in front of your TV. Many of the preoccupations that were on display at the third International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots are ones that have already been explored in pop culture. From Futurama to Westworld, going back to Weird Science and The Stepford Wives, the questions that academics are currently pondering have already been played out, fictionally at least, on TV.

LogRhythm says AI lets organisations minimise false positives and be more productive. Software inefficiencies play a major role in slowing an organisation's ability to detect and respond to cyberthreats, says security intelligence company LogRhythm. One in three IT decision-makers say their teams spend at least three hours a day on tasks that could be handled by software. Most of them think that the average cybersecurity professional wastes close to 10 hours a week because of inadequate software. The study, commissioned by LogRhythm and conducted by Widmeyer, surveyed 751 IT decision-makers in the US, Britain and Asia-Pacific and found that an overwhelming majority (88%) of respondents view insider threats as a dangerous and growing concern in defending their organisations.

Smart machines, businesses as platforms, and the gig economy figure into Tom Friedman's riff on where the future of work could take global companies. Tom Friedman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times and author of seven best-selling books. His work covers a broad range of topics, including globalization, the Middle East, and environmental challenges. Friedman is intrigued by the connections among people, businesses, technology, and institutions that shape the evolution of an increasingly complex world. His newest book, "Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations," explores the future of work, a topic also being examined by Deloitte U.S. and Deloitte LLP's Center for the Edge.

We founded DeepMind Health to develop technologies that could help address some of society's toughest challenges. So we're very excited to announce that our latest research partnership will focus on breast cancer. We'll be working with a group of leading research institutions, led by the Cancer Research UK Centre at Imperial College London, and alongside the AI health research team at Google, to determine if cutting-edge machine learning technology could help improve the detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer is a significant global health problem. Every single year, over 1.6 million people are diagnosed with the disease, and while advances in early detection and treatment have improved survival rates, breast cancer still claims the lives of 500,000 people around the world every year, around 11,000 of whom are here in the UK.

I've always been drawn to the latest developments in tech, often buying gadgets just to see what they can do. The Rasberry Pi captured my imagination for a while and I make a mean model of an orange with a 3D printing machine. My latest obsession is artificial intelligence. Like many small business owners, I initially found it easy to think that I should leave AI to Cambridge University, or the Facebook and Googles of this world. But actually with tools like Microsoft Azure around, it's surprisingly easy for small software creators to get started on a journey of artificial intelligence.