Researchers at the University of East Anglia, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon University and Disney have created a way to animate speech in real-time. With their method, rather than having skilled animators manually match an animated character's mouth to recorded speech, new dialogue can be incorporated automatically in much less time with a lot less effort. To do this, the researchers recorded over eight hours of audio and video of a speaker reciting more than 2500 different sentences. The speaker's face was tracked as they spoke, which was used to create a reference face for an animation model. Off-the-shelf speech recognition software was then used to transcribe the speech sounds.

Britons might soon be able to request that their embarrassing social media posts be taken down and records of their existence wiped, according to new proposals outlined today. The new bill will transfer the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation into UK law, as well as making a few additions and amendments. It's currently possible to delete any of your own posts manually, but that doesn't necessarily remove the information from social media companies' databases. According to Facebook's terms and conditions, "some things can only be deleted when you permanently delete your account." While not all requests for deletion will be granted – companies can decline on the grounds of freedom of expression, and when the information of scientific or historical importance – those involving information posted by or collected from children will nearly always be honoured.

We now live in a world where artificial intelligence, and assistive technology is more accessible than ever before. In my previous post'the update round up', I highlight some of the new updates to Apple, Windows, Android and iOS; and how each offering will improve access to content on mobile and desktop devices for various user groups. It's actually closer to hand than we think. Artificial intelligence or (AI), is fast becoming the norm in our daily lives. The first thing to identify is that it doesn't just help people who have additional access requirements, all users regardless of whether or not they use assistive hardware or software benefit from using AI.

We users will be able to force social media firms to delete their personal information under new'right to be forgotten' rules unveiled by the government. The Data Protection Bill will make it simpler for people to control how companies use their data, with extra powers for the information watchdog to issue fines of up to £17million. Under the plans, individuals will have more control over their data by having the right to be forgotten and ask for their personal data to be erased. This will also mean that people can ask social media channels to delete information they posted in their childhood. They will be able to erase embarrassing information from the internet, such as posts on social networks or online dating sites.

Artificial intelligence is already transforming the world around us, but one expert predicts terrifying changes on the horizon over the next 30 years. Professor Toby Walsh believes machine learning has the power to radically alter life as we know it by the year 2050. Among the more disturbing prophecies, which could be taken straight from an episode of Black Mirror, is that people will live on as chatbots after they die. AI is already transforming the world around us, but one expert predicts terrifying changes on the horizon over the next 30 years. Dr Walsh's vision for the machine world is outlined in a new book entitled'It's Alive!: Artificial Intelligence from the Logic Piano to Killer Robots'.

These startups have seen investment from NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, and DARPA, among many others. As the digital health sector matures from basic tracking apps into highly regulated medical devices, we are seeing bleeding edge technologies being developed that blur the lines between computers and biology. And a growing share of these startups are beginning to target the brain. The burgeoning field of neurotechnology involves brain-machine interfaces, neuroprosthetics, neurostimulation, neuro-monitoring, and implantable devices intended to not only augment nervous system activity, but enhance its capabilities. One such project is Elon Musk's Neuralink which is developing, "high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers."

The financial services industry, especially the banking sector, is going through considerable change. This is due to the implementation of digital technology and as a consequence of changing customer behavior. These behaviors include different expectations in terms of service and a desire to access baking services through multiple channels. For banks, the motivations for implementing digital technologies are driven by changing customer perceptions and a desire to lower cost and to mitigate risks increased security. With changing consumer trends, a report by i-Scoop found that around 90 percent of consumers prefer on-line banking as opposed to going to the bank.

The violent android may not be far from reality in China, where'legal robots' are being used in one province to help decide thousands of cases. The machines stand three-feet-tall (90 centimetres) and are used to review cases, check facts, and offer sentencing opinions. 'Legal robots' (pictured) are being used in China to help decide thousands of cases. China's case management robots are not the first machines designed to help with legal issues. DoNotPay, a robot that has been helping people to dispute around 160,000 parking tickets since 2015, expanded its capabilities last month.

In the customer-centric digital age, every organization is in the business of producing quality code. Code quality, in fact, is an integral part of everything a business does today. And the job of quality assurance (QA) isn't finished once a digital solution is brought to the market. IT must monitor performance in terms of how the product or service is received by end users – bugs and all – and then apply user feedback to build a better digital solution. With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart, connected devices, testing becomes a far more complex and dispersed endeavor.

Aramex, the Dubai-based international logistics and transportation company, on Monday launched its new artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot on Facebook Messenger. Named "Aramex Bot", the service enables personalised, scalable conversations with customers about shipment-related queries and different service offerings. "Aramex Bot provides users with a convenient way to easily find Aramex nearest locations, track shipments and share preferred delivery location. It also offers enables customers in the UAE to schedule a delivery for personalised shipments and e-commerce parcels.," "The chatbot service will soon be available to all Aramex customers across the Middle East."