In the recent few years, it has been observed that the capability of conventional growth drivers viz. These traditional growth boosters are losing their aura in the process of trying hard to sustain the continuous ascend towards success, witnessed in the yesteryears in most developed countries. However, that is only one side of the coin, on the flip side; Artificial Intelligence (AI) is soaring up and has emerged as the new growth lever of production. Adding to its welfares, AI has also exhibited the potential to lead newer growth sources, revolutionize daily operations and reinforcing the role of people to drive growth in business. Authenticating these observations is a recent report by Accenture that clearly describes the impact of AI in 12 developed countries.

From zombies to an asteroid impact and nuclear missiles, there are a range of catastrophic events that could wipe humanity from the face of the earth – but what are the odds of them actually happening? A UK-based betting site has carried out research to learn that top 10 ways the world could end, which also included the probability in which each is likely to occur. Although the firm shared numerous scenarios that could spark the apocalypse, the sun consuming the earth, Judgment Day and a pandemic as the most likely ways the world would perish. Although the firm shared numerous scenarios that could spark the apocalypse, it has listed the sun consuming the earth (pictured), Judgment Day and a pandemic as the most likely ways the world would perish. The report was created by the 888Poker, which investigated different scenarios of how the end could come about and put them together in an informative infographic.

No sooner had I returned from Los Angeles and the Vision AR/VR Summit than I was back on a plane to fly to Malta. Along with Oculus, I was there to present a session discussing AiSolve's ground-breaking medical VR simulator at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles at the eHealth Week event for health professionals. The project has really captured people's attention. Facebook featured it at the company's recent F8 annual get together and the collaboration with Bioflight, the Hollywood-based VFX specialist, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles has received extensive media coverage around the world. The project is a breakthrough in intelligent and responsive VR training for emergency paediatric trauma situations and has been supported by social media giant Facebook and uses an Oculus Rift headset and Touch controllers.

Bird strikes can cause costly damage at airports and are dangerous to aircraft, and the effect of a collision with an aircraft can even be fatal. But a Canadian airport hopes to resolve this problem by using'Robird' - a drone that mimics the flight of a falcon. The lifelike falcon drone can be used to chase off birds, convincing them that it's a real life predator. 'This is a historic step for the Robird and our company,' says Nico Nijenhuis (pictured), the CEO of Clear Flight Solutions, the company that makes the Robird The Robird will scare real birds away from Edmonton International Airport, Canada's largest airport in terms of surface area, starting at the end of May. Flocks in the vicinity will be scared off by the combination of silhouette and wing movement.

Ireland could be a global centre for artificial intelligence, while Dublin is on its way to being a smart city, attendees to the FutureScope conference in Dublin were told on Thursday. Other topics under discussion at the event included the internet of things, the rise of fake news, the future of work, and design thinking. Prof Barry O'Sullivan, director of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics in Cork, and the man named Science Foundation Ireland's researcher of the Year in November, said Ireland had the potential to lead the world in AI. Speaking ahead of a keynote speech on the topic of humans versus machines at the event, Prof O'Sullivan told The Irish Times that moves by IDA Ireland to promote the country as a destination for AI companies were to be applauded. "All of the major names involved in AI already have a presence here, although most are not doing research locally. Given that, and Ireland's academic credentials, and the accompanying increase in collaboration between industry and academia, there is massive potential for the country in this area," he said.

One of the great things about Netflix's global expansion is that it allows audiences to enjoy new movies and TV shows that have been produced in other countries. French subscribers, for example, saw their first local original -- Marseille -- debut around this time last year. Today, as part of a wider statement confirming the creation of 400 new European jobs, Netflix announced that it has greenlit its second French-language TV series, Osmosis. Judging by the show's synopsis, fans of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror could be in for a treat. Netflix says its new original will be an 8-episode drama set in Paris in the near future. It's centered around a new dating app called "Osmosis," which is capable of reading its users' thoughts and feelings -- or brain data -- to "find a perfect match with 100 percent accuracy."

Machines are about to get a lot smarter and machine learning will transform our lives. So says a report by the Royal Society in the UK, a fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists. Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that's already being used to tag people in photos, to interpret voice commands and to help internet retailers to make recommendations. Manuela Saragosa hears about a new technology that is set to revolutionise computing, developed by a UK company called Graphcore. Manuela talks to Graphcore's chief executive Nigel Toon, who is taking on the AI giants.

Elderly people could soon be wearing a sci-fi style robotic exoskeleton to stop them falling over. The lightweight powered device is worn from the waist down and has motors at the hip and braces made out of carbon fibre. Sensors and an algorithm detect the onset of a stumble - helping the wearer to recover their balance. It can be personalised for any individual in just a few minutes. Elderly people could soon be wearing a sci-fi style robotic exoskeleton to stop them falling over.

Sherlock Holmes is famed for his ability to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated pieces of information. Now scientists have developed an AI system that can match the super-sleuths crime solving capabilities. Valcri scans millions of pieces of data to suggest how and why a crime may have been committed, freeing investigators to work on building their case. Valcri was conceived as a way to provide early warnings of impending criminal activity. But the system can also take on the more routine work of law enforcement agencies.

After a 75-year incubation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a household word, reflected in popular culture through books, movies and even music. From self-driving vehicles and interactive robots to Apple's Siri concierge and IBM's Watson, which is increasingly being used to solve business problems, AI technology is playing a growing role in our day-to-day world. While true AI systems are still far less common than most people think -- often what we call "AI" is simply pre-programmed rules that the software reinforces in different contexts -- impressive advances are continually being made in autonomous, adaptive and AI systems that will see them having a greater impact over time. As President of IFIP, the global federation of information and communication technology (ICT) professional societies, I'm conscious that the work our members and others engage in to program these systems is critical to their performance and their trustworthiness. To ensure that the impacts of AI systems remain positive and constructive, it is essential that we build in certain standards and safeguards.