Artificial intelligence holds the key to a new era of innovation, one where computers begin to work intelligently on our behalf rather than under our command. It's an era where technology will become more intuitive, more conversational, more intelligent, will enable businesses to better know and serve their customers in ways previously unimaginable, and ultimately help solve some of the planet's biggest challenges. Microsoft is helping to lead a growing global conversation around AI's transformative potential. Last week, Harry Shum, executive vice president, Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research Group, spoke at Future Forum in Beijing, China. This week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared how Microsoft is democratizing AI for everyone at DLD in Munich, Germany, and at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning and Predictive Analytics are at a perfect storm and many companies leverage these technologies to transform their organization. These technologies existed for a decade, but they evolved rapidly – machine learning today is not like machine learning of the past. In these session, we will look into these technologies, understand what SAP is to offer and how SAP customers are using these technologies. The SAP Community Calls (known previously as "Mentor Monday Webinar Series") is a part of the SAP Mentors Program, and hosted by SAP Mentors, to share relevant and interesting SAP topics and knowledge with all SAP community members. In case of any questions please contact sapmentors@sap.com.

From forecourt to scrapyard, a new car in the UK lasts an average of 13.9 years, which is why if you got one today, it might very well be the last car you buy. Over the next decade, accelerating autonomous driving technology, including advances in artificial intelligence, sensors, cameras, radar and data analytics, are set to transform not only how we drive (or, indeed, are driven), but the notion of car ownership itself. "Autonomous driving has become the next major battlefield for the car industry," says Luca Mentuccia, automotive global MD at Accenture. The six levels of automation, defined under international standards by the Society of Automotive Engineers, range from "no automation" to "full automation", explains Sven Raeymaekers, of tech investment banker GP Bullhound. "If you look at the most recent predictions, the majority of car manufacturers estimate the first highly to fully automated vehicles [AVs] will hit the market between 2020-2025," he says.

Deep learning is taking on dermatology. An algorithm trained in image recognition has matched dermatologists in its ability to identify certain types of skin cancer based on photographs of skin lesions. "I'm certain this is how melanomas are going to be identified in the future," says Richard Weller, a consultant dermatologist at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the UK, who was not involved in the work. Researchers led by Andre Esteva and Brett Kuprel at Stanford University trained a neural network on more than 129,000 images of skin lesions associated with 2000 different diseases. They then pitted it against 21 certified dermatologists on new sets of images to find out whether deep-learning algorithms could reliably pick out cancerous moles and lesions.

Computers can classify skin cancers as successfully as human experts, according to the latest research attempting to apply artificial intelligence to health. The US-based researchers say the new system, which is based on image recognition, could be developed for smartphones, increasing access to screening and providing a low-cost way to check whether skin lesions are cause for concern. "We hope that this is a first step towards early detection," said Andre Esteva, an electrical engineering PhD student from Stanford University and co-author of the research. According to the World Health Organisation, skin cancer accounts for one in every three cancers diagnosed worldwide, with global incidence on the rise. In the UK alone, 131,772 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer were recorded in 2014.

This 3-hour course (video slides) offers developers a quick introduction to deep-learning fundamentals, with some TensorFlow thrown into the bargain. Deep learning (aka neural networks) is a popular approach to building machine-learning models that is capturing developer imagination. If you want to acquire deep-learning skills but lack the time, I feel your pain. In university, I had a math teacher who would yell at me, "Mr. Görner, integrals are taught in kindergarten!"

In billiards, you must call your shot ahead of time. You don't get any points for luck. With that in mind, here are my on-the-record predictions for 2017. Self-driving cars, previously existing only in the world of science fiction, are becoming a reality. Today taxis are driving themselves in Singapore.

All major TV makers have stopped building 3D functionality into their sets, with LG and Sony reportedly following the likes of Samsung, Sharp and Hisense by opting not to make it a feature of their latest televisions. However, lack of content, the requirement for viewers to wear 3D glasses and calibration issues meant that it never really took off as the industry had expected it to. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric ...

Seven years ago, Shawn McCleskey, a dealer of rare video games, trading cards, and vintage machine guns in Memphis, Tennessee, made one of the biggest sales of his career. It unfolded like a Robert Ludlum novel. A man calling himself Wolf wired McCleskey fifty-five thousand dollars, then showed up a few days later at Memphis International Airport carrying a metallic briefcase. The two men met in the crowded arrivals hall and, after a brief stop at a local Chinese restaurant, proceeded to McCleskey's house, where Wolf inspected the merchandise--a pair of video games released in 1996 for the Neo Geo, a Japanese-made console. Satisfied with each game's condition and authenticity, Wolf opened his briefcase, which had been specially designed to house the foot-long cartridges, and locked them inside.

President Donald Trump is widely expected to sign his latest executive order Wednesday seriously restricting immigration and refugees from seven countries in the Middle East and Africa, five of which the U.S. bombed under the previous administration. Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump accused President Barack Obama of supporting liberal immigration and refugee policies that the Republican billionaire-turned-politician said threatened national security. Trump directed his anti-immigration rhetoric toward Mexico and the Middle East, particularly singling Muslims as targets for tough, new visa policies. While he at one time suggested implementing a ban on all Muslims, Trump has since said he would focus on several countries whose population he felt presented the greatest risk. The list of countries was confirmed by congressional aides and immigration experts who the new administration had briefed on the upcoming order, according to Reuters.